Pharaoh's daughter
by Cookie2016
Summary: Takes place in the first mummy movie. Ardeth x OC Please read!
1. MadilynnAma-Nenet

Madilynn is a young independent woman.

She has long and straight black hair. Her eyebrows are perfectly arched and her eyes are a dark chocolate brown, almost black, with long eyelashes. The lips are full and rosy. Her nose is cute and small.

Madilynn's bodx is a bit skinny and a few curves.

She can be gentle but also the opposite. When it comes to her older cousin Jonathan, which is idiotic in her eyes, she can get very rough if he's getting beat up. She's also interested in the ancient Egypt but doesn't get crazy about it like her cousin Evelyn. Madilynn loves her family and cares deeply about them.

She will later realize she's the reincarnation of the ancient princess Ama-Nenet.

In this story she will be very young, 18, but getting 19.

Ama-Nenet is one of the two daughters of pharaoh Seti the First. Her older sister is princess Nefertiri. She was young and enthusiastic. One day her father had called her to the throne room, where she met the high priest Imothep and told her she would marry him. But she was in love with the head Medjai.

Who did she choose?

The one she was promised to and the one she truly loves.


	2. Prologue

THEBES - 2,134 B.C

 **Thebes. City of the Living. Crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti the First.**

An Arabian horse-drawn chariot comes barreling, driven by pharaoh Seti.

Glaring out over the city at the setting sun is a muscular man with intense, evil eyes.

 **Home of Imhotep, Pharaoh's high priest, Keeper of the Dead.**

A gorgeous, olive-skinned goddess enters the outer foyer.The skin-tight dress she's wearing isn't a dress, but her entire naked body has been painted in the ancient Egyptian manner.

 **Birthplace of Anck-su-namun. Pharaoh's Mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her.**

She makes her way through the ornate statuary. Several bald tattooed men stand nearby.

They are the priests of Osiris. Their eyes watch Anck-su-namun vanish through the bedroom curtains. Anck-su-namun embraces Imhotep, they kiss passionately. Imhotep's hands roam over her perfect body, smearing the paint.

 **But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself.**

On the other side of the curtains, the bald priests rush over and close the doors. But just as they do, the doors suddenly burst open. The pharaoh angrily strides in and looks at the Priests.

 _"What are you doing here?"_ the pharaoh asks.

The priests back away, scared, his arrival was unexpected. The pharaoh strides for the curtains. And throws them back. Anck-su-namun stands alone and gives him a smile. The pharaoh sees the smeared body paint which he points at.

 _"WHO HAS TOUCHED YOU?!"_

From behind him, his sword is ripped out of its scabbard. The pharaoh spins around, he sees Imhotep and is shocked.

 _"Imhotep?... My priest."_

Behind him, Anck-su-namun lifts a dagger and plunges it into his back. The pharaoh screams. Imhotep raises the pharaoh's sword. The bald priests slam the doors and bolt them tight. Through the curtains, they see the shadows of Anck-su-namun and Imhotep stab at the pharaoh. Suddenly, the doors are rammed from the other side. Imhotep and Anck-su-namun turn and look. The doors are rammed again. The two lovers share desperate looks. The bald priests run up and grab Imhotep and try and pull him towards the balcony.

 _"Pharaoh's bodyguards!"_ the priests yell.

Imhotep tries to break free, but Anck-su-namun rips the pharaoh's sword out of his hand and pushes him towards the balcony.

 _"You must go. Save yourself. Only you can resurrect_ _me"_ , she says.

Imhotep's face fills with despair. The doors explode open. Men with blue-tinted skin and strange puzzle-tattoos over their bodies, stride in, armed to the teeth. These are the Mumia. The priests hustle Imhotep out onto the dark balcony just as the Mumia rip through the curtains. Anck-su-namun points at the pharaoh and hisses.

 _"My body is no longer his temple!"_ she hisses.

She plunges the sword into her own heart. Out on the balcony,

Imhotep's mouth opens into a horrible silent scream...

For murdering the pharaoh, Anck-su-namun's body was to be cursed. And it was Imothep,

the High Priest, whose duty it was to curse it.

Imhotep leads a torch-lit procession across the dunes. Anck-su-namun's mummy is carried by nubian slaves. They put her down in the sand along with five jewel encrusted jars.

Her body was mummified, her vital organs removed and placed in sacred canopic jars.

Imhotep, filled with dread, reads from a book made out of pure gold. The book of the living.

The Book of The Living contained sacred incantations that would send the evil dead on a journey into the dark underworld.

A strange light suddenly flashes across the faces of the slaves and the Egyptian soldiers. Suddenly, everyone's fear-filled eyes all rise, as if watching Anck-su-namun's body rising. Then one last huge flash, accompanied by a blast of wind, and it's over. Anck-su-namun's body now lies twisted on the ground. Imhotep's priests place the body into a stone sarcophagus. The Nubian slaves lower it into a hole and bury it with sand. Imhotep then signals to the Soldiers, who throw their spears at the Nubians, killing them.

Imhotep's knife-wielding priests attack the now unarmed Soldiers, hacking at them in the flickering darkness as Imhotep and the Mumia solemnly watch, no unholy person should ever know the exact location of the burial site.

The Mumia walk off across the sand and then, one by one, the

priests stop their frenzied stabbing and stare off at the vanishing Mumia. As the last Mumia disappears over a distant

dune, Imhotep nods, and the Priests leap onto Anck-su-namun's grave and begin digging it back up with their hands.

 **To resurrect Anck-su-namun Imothep and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her body.**

Chariots race out into the moonlit desert. Imhotep leads the way. A "hearse" carries Anck-su-namun's mummy.

 **They raced deep into the desert, taking Anck-su-namun's corpse to Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, ancient burial site for the sons of pharaohs and resting place for the wealth of Egypt.**

There was another book, The book of the Dead, which was never to be opened, never to be read, for it contained the incantations that could bring a dead body back to life a most unholy thing.

The chariots race up the stone ramp and in through the city gates.

The book was hidden at Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, inside the statue of Anubis, so that no such sacrilege might ever disgrace Egypt.

 **For his love, Imothep dared the god's anger by going deep into the city where he took the black book of the Dead from its holy resting place.**

Imhotep pulls an ornate chest out of a secret compartment inside the giant statue of Anubis. He opens the chest and lifts out the book of the Dead, made of black stone.

Big hairy rats scurry through the mausoleums and over the

headstones of this very large, scary, underground cemetery. A detritus moat surrounds the cemetery, muck made out of filthy water and human remains. Skulls bob in the goop. The priests have gathered in a circle. Their hooded, lifeless eyes seem dead to this world. Their bald heads rock back and forth as they chant, a quiet eerie hum.

In the middle of the circle is a strange, twisted altar. Imhotep has unwrapped Anck-su-namun's gorgeous, lifeless body and placed her five sacred canopic jars around her.

 **Anck-su-namun's soul had been sent to the dark underworld, her vital organs removed and placed in five sacred canopic jars.**

Anck-su-namun's vital organs were still fresh, so a human sacrifice would not need be made.

As Imhotep begins to read from the book of the Dead, a large swirling hole starts to open in the detritus bog. Several priests look over at it, frightened, then quickly look back down and resume chanting. A strange mist wafts up out of the swirling hole and over to the jars, it passes through them and into Anck-su-namun's body. One of the jars shudders, the heart inside begins to beat. The chanting priests, swirling hole, wafting mist, beating heart and Imothep's readings are reaching a crescendo. Anck-su-namun's eyes suddenly fly open.

 **Anck-su-namun's soul had come back from the dead.**

Now all that was needed, was to return her organs to their rightful place within her body.

Imhotep lifts a sacrificial knife above Anck-su-namun's breast, about to plunge it down. The chanting, swirling and beating heart climax.

 **But pharaoh's bodyguards had followed Imothep and stopped him before the ritual could be completed.**

And that's when the Mumia burst in and storm through the startled Priests. The head mumia smashes the jar with the beating heart. The mist instantly sucks back out of Anck-su-namun's body and implodes back into the swirling hole. Anck-su-namun's eyes close, dying once again. Imhotep screams in rage. The Mumia grab him and his priests.

 **His priests were condemned to be mummified alive.**

Inside a torch-lit chamber, Imhotep is held by Anubis-headed embalmers. He cringes at the flickering, impressionistic glimpses of his Priests being embalmed and mummified alive.

The horrid-looking Embalmers, using knives, needles and thread, calmly perform their ghastly surgery on the screaming priests, who are going insane from the procedure. A red hot poker is pulled out of a pit of burning coals. A priest's head is wedged between two strong boards. His

eyes widen in terror as an Embalmer moves to insert the red hot poker up his nose. All twenty-one of Imhotep's priests

squirm inside their wrappings. Imhotep is forced to his knees. His arms are held back. His mouth is pried open.

 **As for Imothep he was condemned to endure the Hom-Dai. The worst of all ancient** **curses. One so horrible, it had never before been bestowed.**

Using a pair of tongs, an Embalmer slowly pulls Imhotep's tongue out of his mouth, then places a very sharp knife on

top of it, Imothep's tongue is

cut out. The Embalmer flings Imhotep's tongue onto the floor. The Mumia's dogs attack and quickly eat it. Imhotep is wrapped alive. Only his mouth, nostrils and fearfilled eyes are left free of the slimy bandages. Detritus muck boils inside a black cauldron. Embalmers scoop out the fetid muck and apply it to Imhotep's wrappings as he squirms. He's then laid in a wooden coffin inside a stone sarcophagos. An Embalmer with a bucket steps up and looks into the coffin. Imhotep's wild eyes stare back. The Embalmer empties the bucket over Imhotep's chest: dozens of scarabs, disgusting dung beetles. They scurry across Imhotep's screaming face. Some vanish into his tongue-less mouth and up his nostrils.

By eating the sacred scarabs, he would be cursed to stay alive forever. And by eating him, they were cursed just the same.

The lid to the coffin is slamned shut. Then, using a strange four-sided key, the Head Mumia locks the coffin lid tight.The heavy sarcophagus lid is shoved into place and with a loud whoosh seals itself airtight. Once again, the Head Mumia uses the strange key, locking the sarcophagus lid tight.

 **Imothep was to remain sealed inside his sarcophagus, the undead for all of eternity.**

The blue-skinned, strangely tattooed man carefully collapses

the sides of the key, turning it into a little puzzle box.

 **They would never allow him to be released. For he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind, an unholy flesh-eater, with the strength** **of ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility.**

Imhotep's sarcophagus is dropped into a detritus pit. The

disgusting muck splashes up, drools down it's sides, and then is mysteriously sucked into it's seams, vanishing clean.

And if he could raise his beloved Anck-su-namun from her place in hell, together, they would be an unstoppable infection upon this world. The Apocalypse. The End.

Imhotep's horrifying tongue-less screams can be heard coming from inside his sarcophagus as grave diggers shovel dirt onto it.

The heavily armed Mumia stand guard around Imhotep's grave.

Looking down on the burial site is the huge statue of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death.

 **For 3,000 years men and armies fought over this land neuer knowing what evil lay beneath it. And for 3,000 years werden the Medjai the descendants of Pharaoh's sacred bodyguards kept watch.**

-So how do you like it so far?

Pleeeeaaaase comment, share, like-


	3. 1

4,159 years later

The statue decayed the last 4,159 years and is now decrepit, half-buried out in the middle of the desert.

1925

Imhotep's horrifying screams became the screams of a Tuareg horseman. Racing across the desert with two thousand of his warrior brethren. Armed to the teeth. A mile across the scorching desert two hundred french foreign Legionnaires scurry through the ruins, preparing for the onslaught. Rick O'Connell is up on the wall. His Kepi sits at a

jaunty angle. He looks out at the massive screaming horde galloping at him.

"I knew this was gonna be a lousy day", O'Connell says.

A Frenchman joins him as he makes his way across the top of the wall.

"Personally, I would like to surrender", Beni said, "Why can we not just surrender?"

"Shut-up and gimme your bandolier", O'Connell shot back.

Beni pulls off his cartridge belt and hands it to O'Connell.

"Then let's run away. Right now. While we can still make it", Beni begs.

O'Connell throws it on, crisscrossing his own bandolier.

"Now gimme your revolver, you'll never use it anyway", O'Connell demands.

Beni pulls out his pistol and chucks it to O'Connell.

"Then let's play dead, huh? Nobody ever does that anymore."

O'Connell slides the pistol Beni gave him into his belt, next to his own revolver.

"Now go find me a big stick."

"In the desert? What for?"

O'Connell turns and goes nose-to-nose with him.

"So I can tie it to your back, you

appear to be without a spine."

The horde of warriors thunders forward, now a half mile out, scimitars rattling. O'Connell and Beni run through the ruins.

"How'd a guy like you end up in the Legion anyways?" O'Connell asked.

"I got caught robbing a synagogue. Lots of good stuff in these holy places; churches, temples, mosques, and who's guarding them?"

"Altar boys?"

"Exactly! I speak seven languages, including Hebrew, so my specialty was synagogues. How about you? Kill somebody?"

Beni trips and accidentally tackles O'Connell to the ground. O'Connell gives him a nasty look.

"No, but I'm considering it."

They get up and run out the gate and down the stone ramp.

"What then? Robbery? Extortion? Kidnapping?"

"None of the them, thank you."

"Then what the hell are you doing here!?"

They both skid to a stop at the front line as they see the horde of warriors. The sound of charging horses is deafening. O'Connell gives Beni a big cheesy smile.

"I was just looking for a good time."

And that's when the cowardly Legionnaire Colonel suddenly panics, cuts and runs. O'Connell instantly stiffens.

"You just got promoted", Beni said to O'Connell.

"Prenez vos positions!" O'Connell yelled.

Onward comes the horde Hoofs pounding the sand. Several more Legionnaires take off.

"STEADY!" he yells, "You're with me on this one, right?" he asks Beni.

"Oh, your strength gives me strength."

"STEADY!"

The Tuaregs let loose with those horrifying screams. More Legionnaires haul-ass. Beni is one of them.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

'What the hell?'

O'Connell rolled his eyes at Beni's run off.

"STEADY!!"

The Tuaregs set their rifles and take aim. O'Connell steels himself, cocks and locks. The cartridge in his mouth suddenly snaps, he spits it into the sand.

"FIRE!"

The Legionnaires on the ground fire. The rifles report with a crash. The blast blows dozens of Tuaregs clean off their mounts. The prone Legionnaires quickly begin to reload. The kneeling Legionnaires fire too. More Tuaregs fall off of their horses and bite the sand.

The remaining warriors open fire. A third of the Legionnaires died. The remaining standing Legionnaires fire again. Tuaregs spin off their mounts, crashing to the sand. And then the entire Tuareg force plows into the ruins and through the Legionnaires. O'Connell grabs the barrel of his rifle and starts clubbing riders off their steeds, fighting like a man possessed. Beni on the other hand, is bellycrawling across the sand, whimpering in full retreat as Legionnaires fall dead all around him. He crawls through the front gate. O'Connell throws his rifle down and goes for his guns. He cross-draws, gun in each hand, starts blowing riders off their mounts.

"Run, Beni! Run!

Beni crawls faster, and then he spots an open temple doorway amongst the rocks. He gets up and sprints for the door as the last of the Legionnaires are shot off their feet behind him.

"Get inside! Get inside!"

O'Connell's guns go empty.

"Son-of-a-bitch", he cursed.

He turns and runs like hell, right through the front gate. Four Tuareg warriors on massive Arabians haul-ass after him. O'Connell hurdles a stone column and hits the ground running. He spots Beni inside the Temple doorway, trying to close the heavy sandstone door.

"Hey! Beni! Wait up!"

Beni has no intention of waiting up, he pushes harder.

"What are ya doing?! Wait up!"

O'Connell runs faster. Beni pushes the door harder. The four horsemen leap the big column and charge after him.

"Don't you close that door! DON'T YOU

CLOSE THAT DOOR!"

Beni closes the door just as O'Connell reaches it. O'Connell slams his body into the door. But it didn't budge.

"I'm gonna get you for this!

He turns and bolts off around the rocks, running for his life, weaving through the ruins, the Arabians getting closer and closer. The pounding hoofs were getting louder and louder. O'Connell finally spins around and faces his attackers. The four massive horses crash to a stop in front of him. The vicious Tuaregs raise their rifles to finish him off. O'Connell just stands there, exhausted and beaten, then he closed his eyes and waited to be shot.

And that's when the horses go ape-shit. All four of them rear up. Two of the Riders are thrown to the ground. The horses screech and bellow and snort in fear, then buck like fury and haul-ass away as if the devil himself had scared them. The thrown Riders get up and race off after their mounts. O'Connell just stands there, stunned, then he lifts his right hand and checks out his middle finger. And then he feels the evil himself, and turns around. The shattered, decrepit statue of Anubis stares back at him. Suddenly, the sand begins to shift under O'Connell's feet. He starts to back away, keeping his eyes on the transforming sand, it looks like huge snakes are wiggling and writhing beneath it, forming lines and shapes. O'Connell quickly turns and runs off through the ruins. The sand stops moving, and there is now a picture drawn in the sand, a picture of Imothep's screaming face. Up on a ridge, a group of riders watch O'Connell stumble clear of the decrepit city. O'Connell feels their presence and looks up. Very different from the Tuaregs, they are dressed in black from head to toes and faces covered in strange puzzle-tattoos; the Medjai, descendants of the Mumia, still watching Imhotep's grave after all this time. The Medjai leader is a huge, fierce man in black robes, with dual scimitars across his waist. His face is handsome and tattooed like the others. His dark eyes watch O'Connell stagger off into the open desert...


	4. 2

Cairo, a city so old the stars have actually changed their positions in the sky since it's birth. A city teeming with every form of life. A strange, mysterious, wonderful city. Deep in the bowels of the museum of antiquities lie the stacks, rows upon rows of towering bookshelves, filled with literature on the Antiquities. Standing at the top of a tall ladder between two of these rows and leaning against one of the bookshelves, is a British woman with eye-glasses, hair-in-a-bun, long dress.

Evelyn pulls a book out from a stack under her arm, blows the dust off it, then places it on a shelf with other books whose titles all begin with the letter "O". Then she grabs another book after book out from under her arm and reads the titles.

"Sacred Stones... Sculpture and Aesthetics... Socrates, Seti volume one, volume two... and Volume three and T-Tuthmosis?... Now how did you get up here? T. T, T, T, T. T! I'm going to put you where you belong."

Carefully, so as not to lose her balance, she looks over her shoulder to the bookshelf behind her, where all the titles begin with the letter "T". Then she looks down. It's a long way to the bottom. Evelyn gently sets the other books down on the top shelf, then turns and gingerly starts to reach across the aisle with the Tuthmosis book. It's a little too far, so she stretches, reaching, holding the top of the ladder with her fingertips, she's almost got it. That's when the ladder pulls away from the shelf. Evelyn yelps, flings the Tuthmosis book and grabs the top of the ladder, which stands straight up. Evelyn holds her breath,

-"Help."-

swaying precariously, then she loses her balance, the ladder swings around.

"Oheiugm!! Ahhhhhh!"

Evelyn clings to the top, struggling for balance. Evelyn holds her breath. And that's when the bookshelf falls and crashes into the next bookshelf.

"Ooh. Whoa!"

Evelyn looks up as the domino effect kicks-in: each bookshelf crashing into the next. It ends as the last shelf crashes into a wall. Evelyn's eyes are closed. She opens one eye and looks left, then right. Then she opens the other eye and stares at the huge mess.

"Oops."

The Egyptian curator storms in.

"What... How c-... l-... H-How... Oh look at this! Sons of the pharaohs! Give me frogs, flies, locusts, anything but you! Compared to you, the other plagues were a joy!"

Evelyn bites her lip nervously.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"My girl, when Rameses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You... are a catastrophe! Why do I put up with you?"

Evelyn turns to him, trying to contain herself.

"W-Well, put up with me because I can read and write ancient Egyptian... and I can decipher hieroglyphs and hieratic... and, w-well, I'm the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalogue this library, that's why.

"I put up with you because your mother, father and uncle were our finest patrons, that's why! Allah rest their souls. Now I don't care how you do it and I don't care how long it takes. But straighten up this meshiver!"

The Curator storms out. Then another person, Evelyn knew too well, came in.

"Evelyn! Good to... woah! What happened here?"

"Oh Maddy, it's good to see you again too!"

Evelyn then hears a noise and quickly turns around.

"Hello? Maddy you heard that?"

"What?"

Evelyn hears it again, like feet, slowly shuffling across the floor, coming from a nearby gallery.

"Abdul? Mohammed? Bob?"

Evelyn walks through the stacks and enters, with Madylinn closely following behind. The Ramesseum was filled with treasures and plunder from the Middle Kingdom. It was very dark and quiet in there, the only light is from flickering torches at either end of the spooky gallery. Evelyn grabs a torch. Looks around, at a statue of Anubis, another of Horus, they stare down at Evelyn, who is starting to get scared now. Madylinn looks at her cousin confused as she watched her walking down the aisle, past a closed sarcophagus, cases of ancient artifacts and another sarcophagus, which is open. Evelyn freezes, swallows hard, nervously looks around to see who could have opened it.

"Everything okay Evelyn?" Madylinn asked.

"I could swear that this one wasn't open before", Evelyn mumbled.

Madylinn comes to her side and grabbed her cousin's shoulder with one hand. Then Evelyn slowly leans forward with the torch, and peers inside. A rotted mummy sits up and screeches at them. Both, Madylinn and Evelyn scream, Evelyn drops the torch and backs away, scared out of her wits. And then, coming from inside the sarcophagus, they hear a man laughing. Evelyn narrows her eyes as that said man crawls out from behind the Mummy, laughing his ass off, half drunk.

"You...! YOU...!"

"Drunkard? Fool? Rat-bastard? Please call me something original."

As he crawls out of the sarcophagus, Madylinn pulls a cigarette out of the mummy's mouth.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" she hissed.

"Of course I do! But sometimes I'd rather like to join them."

He grins drunkenly. Evelyn punches him hard in the chest.

"Well I wish you'd do it sooner rather than later, before you ruin my career the way you've ruined yours. Now get out!"

"My dear, sweet, baby sister and cousin, I'll have you... know... that at this precise moment my career is on a high note."

"High note? HA! That I'm not laughing" Madylinn exclaimed.

Jonathan belches, then falls back and sits on the edge of a tomb.

"High note? Ha! Jonathan please, I'm really not in them ops for you. I've just made a bit of a mess in the library... and the Bembridge scholars have rejected my application form again. They say I don't have enough experience in the field."

"They're totally wrong, Evy", Madylinn said.

"You'll always have us, old mum. Besides, I have just the thing to cheer you up."

Jonathan excitedly starts scrounging around in his jacket.

"Oh no, not another worthless trinket Jonathan, if I bring one more piece of junk to the Curator to try and... sell for you..."

Jonathan pulls out a small, ancient box; the collapsed key to Imhotep's sarcophagus and coffin. Evelyn and Madylinn are instantly curious, both sharing the interest in the ancient Egypt. Evelyn grabs the box out of his hand.

"Where did you get this?"

Jonathan knew their weaknesses and gave them a mischievous smile.

"On a dig, down in Thebes."

Evelyn rolls the box around in her hands, her cousin mumbling to herself as she translates the hieratics and hieroglyphs covering it.

"My whole life I've never found anything, Maddy, Evy. Please tell me I've found something.

Madylinn takes the box out of Evelyn's hands and let her fingers play with the various little slats on the box, shifting them different ways, like a puzzle box. Suddenly, it unfolds itself, almost mechanically, turning itself into the KEY. Sitting inside the open key/box was a folded piece of papyrus, an ancient map.

"Jonathan?"

"Yes Maddy?"

"I think you've found something."

The Curator sits at his desk, staring through a jeweler's eyepiece at the key/box. Evelyn and especially Madylinn, hover behind him, excited.

"See the cartouche there? It's the official royal seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it", Madylinn said.

"Perhaps", the Curator mumbled.

Jonathan leans in from across the desk.

"Two questions. Who the hell was Seti the First? And was he rich?" he asked.

"He was the second and last Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, the nineteenth dynasty... said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all", Madylinn explained.

"Good, that's good. I like this fellow, I like him very much", Jonathan mumbled.

The Curator picks up the map.

"We've already dated the map, this map is almost four thousand years old. And if you look the hieratic over here... well..."

Evelyn inhales deeply before continuing.

"It's Hamunaptra."

Then Curator freezes, suddenly very nervous, which didn't go unnoticed by Madylinn. Then he recovers and scoffs.

"Dear God, don't be ridiculous. We are scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers... to amuse Greek and Roman tourists.

"We know all the blather: about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy... but Evy's research has led us to believe that the city itself may have existed."

"Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes. The City of The Dead. Where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

"Yes, yes, i-i-in a big underground treasure chamber."

"Heh!" the Curator exclaimed.

"Oh come on. Everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand. On pharaoh's command. The whole place would disappear beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it.

"All we know is that the city mysteriously vanished around 2,134 B.C", Evelyn said.

The Curator holds the map closer to the burning candle-lamp.

"As the Americans would say: it's all fairy tales and hokum..."

The map 'accidentally,' catches on fire. The Curator throws it to the floor.

"Oh my goodness! Look at that!"

Jonathan drops to his knees and quickly puts it out and lifts it up. The left third of the map is now missing.

"You've burned it! You've burned off the part with the lost city!" he exclaimed.

"It's for the best, I'm sure. Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one has ever found it. Most... have never returned.

Jonathan was devastated.

"You killed my map."

"I'm sure it was a fake, anyway, I'm surprised that you, Miss Carnahan, to be so fooled."

The Curator reaches for the key/box. Madylinn quickly snatches it off the desk and gives him a very angry, suspicious look and scoffs.


	5. 3

The Cairo prison. One of the worst hell holes on earth. Every low-life form of scumbag can be found here. The warden, a first rate scumbag himself, escorts Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan across the gallows courtyard.

"Come, come! Step over the threshold. Welcome to Cairo prison, my humble home.

"You told us that you got it on a dig down in Thebes!" Madylinn whisper-yelled.

"Well I was mistaken."

"You lied to us!"

"I lie to everybody, what makes you so special?"

"I'm your cousin!"

"And I'm your sister!"

"That just makes you more gullible."

"You stole it from a drunk at the local Casbah?!"

"Picked his pocket, actually. ... So I don't think it's a very good..."

Jonathan wanted to turn around and go, but Evelyn and their cousin turned him back around and dragged him along with them. The Warden ushers Evelyn and Jonathan into the holding pen.

"Stop being so ridiculous. What exactly is this man in prison for?" Evelyn addressed the last part to the warden.

"This I do not know. But when I heard that you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he was just looking for a good time.

The interior cell door bursts open. O'Connell is in chains, dragged out by four guards, they shove him up to the cell bars. From the looks of it, he's been there for a while; his face is half hidden by long hair, a beard and many new bruises. Evelyn looks at him, disgusted by his appearance.

"But he's just a filthy criminal?

Jonathan cringed.

"Way to go, Evy", Madylinn said.

"This is the man you stole it from?"

"Yes, exactly. So why don't we just go sniff out a spot of tiffin..."

O'Connell gives Madylinn and Evelyn the once over, then looks at Jonathan.

"Who are you and who are the broads?"

"Broads?!" Madylinn and her cousin exclaimed at the same time.

"I-I'm just a local dort of missionary chap, spreading the good word. But this are my sister Evy and our cousin Maddy."

"How do you do?"

"Yeah? Oh well,... I'm sure they're not a total loss."

Evelyn is stunned and furious.

"I beg your pardon", she said.

"I'll be back in a moment."

The warden heads out the door.

"I tremble with anticipation", O'Connell said sarcastically.

A guard clubs O'Connell across the head, O'Connell's face bounces off the metal bars. He shows no pain, but just looks back and gives the guard a nasty look.

"Ask him abou the box."

Evelyn steps closer.

"Um we have found uh hello. Excuse me. We three found your puzzle box and we've come to ask you about it."

"No."

"No?"

"No... You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

"Shh, shh."

The three quickly looked around, hoping the guards didn't hear him. They step closer.

"H-How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that's where I was when I found it. I was there."

The two women were dumbstruck. But Jonathan looks suspicious.

"But how do we know that's not a load of pig's wallow?"

O'Connell looks closer at Jonathan, a glint of recognition.

"Hey,... do I know you?" he asked.

"No, no. I've just go tone of those faces", Jonathan said.

O'Connell's eyes widened and his fist comes flying through the bars and it hits Jonathan square in the jaw. He hits the floor. A guard clubs O'Connell again. His head bounces off the bars again. He shows no pain, but gives the guard another nasty look. Evelyn looks down at her brother, then back at O'Connell.

"You were actually at Hamunaptra?"

"I just decked your brother."

"Yes, well..."

Evelyn shrugs and earns a surprised look from Madylinn.

"I know my brother."

O'Connell almost smiles.

"Yeah, I was there."

"You swear?" Madylinn shot.

"Every damn day."

"No, she meant..."

"I know what she meant. I was there, alright. Seti's place. The City of the Dead.

"What did you find? What did you see?"

"I found sand. I saw death."

The warden enters. Evelyn quickly leans closer to O'Connell.

"Could you tell us how to get there? I mean, the exact location?"

"You want to know?"

Evelyn leans in even closer.

W-Well, yes."

"Do you really want to know?"

She leans her face right up to the bars, nervous and excited.

"Yes."

Madylinn watched the conversation between the both of them with curiosity as O'Connell suddenly stepped forward and kissed Evelyn full on the lips.

"Then get me the hell out of here!"

Evelyn is stunned and Madylinn is shocked. A guard clubs him, his face bounces off the bars again, but before he can react the guards grab him,

-"Do it ladies!"-

yanks him away from the bars and drag him out of the room.

"Where are they taking him?" Evelyn asked.

"To be hanged."

Evelyn is shocked. The warden shows-off his green teeth in a grin.

"Apparently, he had a very good time."

Hundreds of filthy prisoners stare down onto the gallows as the hangman's noose is draped over O'Connell's head and cinched tight around his neck. Evelyn and her cousin followed the warden onto a balcony above the gallows. The prisoners all go dead quiet at the sight of them; like jackals staring at fresh meat.

"No women allowed."

"We are English women", Evelyn said.

This seems to confuse the Warden, he shrugs and sits down. O'Connell looks up as the two women plop down beside the Warden.

"We will give you one hundred pounds to save this man's life."

My dear ladies, I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hang."

"Two hundred pounds."

"Proceed!"

"Three hundred pounds!"

O'Connell can hear every word, he looks hopeful. The hangman turns to him.

"Any last requests, pig?"

"Yeah. Loosen the knot and let me go."

The yelled something in Arab to the warden.

"Yahemar! Of course we don't let him go!"

The Hangman grabs the lever to the trapdoor.

"Five hundred pounds!"

The Warden sets his greasy, lecherous hand on Madylinn's leg.

"And what else? I'm a very lonely man

Madylinn was revolted and wanted to throw up. Evelyn quickly shoves his hand from her cousin's leg.

Insulted, the Warden angrily turns

-"Yalla tlak!"-

and gestures to the hangman, who pulls the lever. The trapdoor drops away.

"Nooo!"

O'Connell drops through the hole. The rope pays out. O'Connell's body snaps at the end of the rope. But he's still alive.

"Ha ha! His neck did not break! Oh I'm so sorry! Now we must watch him strangle to death."

The prisoners were screaming and shouting in anger. The guards looked around, nervous. O'Connell struggles at the end of the rope, gagging. Evelyn is horrified and Madylinn's breath hitched, she quickly turns to the warden, leans forward and whispers in his ear.

"He knows the location to Hamunaptra."

The warden spins around and faces her.

"You lie."

"I would never!"

At the end of the rope, O'Connell is choking and gagging and turning several shades of red. The Warden stares at Madylinn.

"Are you telling me this filthy godless son of a pig knows where to find The City of the Dead?"

"Yes!"

"Truly?"

"Yes and if you cut him down, we will give you... ten percent", Evelyn said.

"Fifty percent."

"Twenty", Madylinn said.

"Forty."

"Thirty", Madylinn shots.

"Twenty-Five."

"Ah! Deal!" Madylinn exclaimed happily.

The warden touched his head, realizing what mistake he made.

"Ahh! Cut him down!" the warden yelled to the hangman.

A scimitar slashes the air and the rope is cut. O'Connell falls to the ground and he rolls over. All of the prisoners burst into cheers. O'Connell looks up

at the two women. They smiles broadly and wave down at him.

Candle light flickered across the Curator's face.

"They both must die."

Standing in the shadows across from his desk are three Medjai. One of the Medjai has a rusty metal hook for a hand, he shrugs.

"They are like all the others. They will die in the desert."

"No! She has seen too much. She knows too much."

The Curator leans across his desk, fear in his eyes.

"Not only do they have a map, but they have the key."

It spooked the hell out of the Medjai guys.

"The key!? They have the lost key!?"

"Yes. No one has ever had so much, been so close. We must stop her, or it will be the end of us all."

"Then we will kill them, we will kill then and all those with them."

"And burn the map and retrieve the key."

"It will be done. But what of the American expedition? They leave tomorrow as well."

"Forget the bumbling Americans, they will be like all the others. Without the map to guide them, how can they possibly find Hamunaptra?"

"It is three days down the Nile, then two days by camel, sahibs", Beni said.

He was standing on the bow of a Passenger barge, surrounded by Daniels, Henderson and Burns.

"For all the money we're paying you, something better god-damned well be under that sand.

Henderson slapped Daniels on the back.

"Hamunaptra," Daniels, that's all he kept saying, to himself, "Hamunaptra."

Teams of explorers swarmed the docks. Across the Nile, the pyramids spike the sky. Madylinn an her cousins Evelyn and Jonathan walked along the boardwalk besieged by hawkers selling everything from toy tombs to King Tut action figures.

"Do you really think he's going to show up?"

"Yes, undoubtedly, knowing my luck. He may be a cowboy, but I know the breed. His word is his word.

"Well, personally, I think he's filthy, rude and a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit."

"Anyone I know?" O'Connell asked.

The three turn. O'Connell walks up; shaved, showered, spit and polished, with a new haircut and clothes. He looks more dashing and handsome than ever. Evelyn is suitably impressed.

"Oh... um,... hello", Evelyn stuttered.

Jonathan grabs O'Connell's arm and shakes his hand.

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure , eh, O'Connell?"

"Yeah. yeah, smashing."

O'Connell quickly checks his pockets. He finds his wallet and relaxes.

"Oh, no, no, I'd never steal from a partner."

"That reminds me. No hard feelings about the..."

O'Connell did a boxing gesture to Jonathan's face.

"Oh, no, no. Happens all the time."

Directly above them on the bow of the barge was Burns, who wiped his bifocals and turns to Beni.

"You're sure Hamunaptra is out there?" Burns asked.

"Along with the scorched bones of my entire garrison, sahib", Beni answered.

And that's when he spots O'Connell. Beni shakes his head, as if seeing a mirage, then starts backing away from the men.

"A thousand pardons, my good sahibs but there is much work to be done."

Beni quickly scurries off, vanishing down into the hold.

Back down, Evelyn, recovering, she cleared her throat.

"Mister O'Connell, can you look me in the eye, and guarantee me this is not some kind of a flimflam? Because if it is, I'm warning you..."

O'Connell steps up close to Evelyn, invading her space looks her straight in the eye. Evelyn doesn't back away.

"You're warning me? Lady, let me put it this way and all I can tell you, miss, is that my Colonel found that map in an ancient fortress, and the whole damn garrison believed in this so much...that without orders, we marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. Like I told ya, all I saw was

sand. When we got there all we found... was sand and blood. Everybody else was wiped out by Tuareg warriors. Let me take your bags."

He had addressed the last part to both of the women. O'Connell takes their bags and heads up the gangplank and onto the same passenger barge that Beni and the Americans are on. Evelyn's eyes follow him, a bit wistfully. Madylinn and Jonathan saw it.

"Yes, yes, you're right, filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel", Madylinn started to tease her cousin.

She did notice the interest Evelyn had shown.

"Nothing to like there at all", Jonathan continued.

Evelyn gives them a look. Jonathan just grins. And that's when the warden suddenly brushes past, tipping his raggedy hat.

"A bright good morning to all."

"Oh no. What are you doing here?"

"I am here to protect my investment, thank you very much."

And up the plank he goes. The two women and Jonathan share a look. The barge pulls out and heads down the Nile.


	6. 4

The moon was shining down on the desert. The three vicious Medjai, which were in the Curator's office before, quietly glide a narrow skiff out onto the river. The one with the hook sits in the middle of the skiff, the other two row, heading for the Passenger barge coming their way.

Jonathan and the three Americans are playing poker.

"Quit playin' with your glasses and cut the deck, Burns."

"Without my glasses I can't see the deck to cut it, Dave."

O'Connell comes out a door carrying a gunny-sack.

"Sit down, O'Connell, sit down, we could use another good player."

"I only gamble with my life, never my money."

"Never? What if I were to bet you five hundred dollars we get to Hamunaptra before you?" Daniels asked.

O'Connell returns Daniel's cocky look.

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?"

"Damn straight we are?"

"And who says we are?

"He does", the Americans said in unison and pointed to Jonathan.

"Well..."

"Well, how 'bout it? Is it a bet?"

"Alright, you're on."

Burns slips on his dirty bifocals.

"What makes you so confident, sir?"

"What makes you?" O'Connell retorted.

Henderson spits a wad of chew into a spittoon.

"We got us a man who's actually been there."

O'Connell's poker face drops, perplexed. Same with Jonathan.

"Oh, what a coincidence, because O'Connell..."

O'Connell 'accidentally' hits him in the ribs with the

gunnyback, shutting him up. Jonathan quickly covers.

"Whose play is it?... Is it my play? I thought..."

"Gentleman, we got us a wager. Good evening, Jonathan."

O'Connell squeezed Jonathan's shoulder too much that he flinched.

"Good Night. Oh hey Maddy! Wanna join us?"

Madylinn scoffed.

"What? Na... it's your... thing. I'm going to bed. Good night Jonathan."

"Night, Maddy."

"Gentleman", Maddy nods to the Americans.

"Nice lady you got there."

"She's my cousin. And I don't think she's interested in any of you."

Madylinn went to her room and dressed into a thin nightgown. She laid down and covered herself with the blanket, falling into a deep sleep immediately. What she didn't knew was, that she was being watched by one of the Medjai.

Unknown POV

I watched as the girl bid the Americans a good night and going to her room. I followed her there. Somewhere I got the feeling that I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't figure out from where and why I had this feeling. I watched her going into her room and she started to undress. I quickly turned around, not wanting to be a pervert. When I heard her walking again, I glanced back and turned completely around again and watched as she laid down and covered herself with the blanket and fell asleep quickly. The others came up behind me wondering what I was doing and took me so long. One of them jumped through the window and raised his hook to make a strike. My eyes widened and I quickly grabbed his raised arm. He looked at me confused.

"Don't. Don't kill her. Please."

The others, who came in too, went outside again, leaving me behind in the room. My gaze went to the beautiful girl again and I sat down at the bed's edge. I pulled the cloth from over my lower face.

"I will find out what this feelings I have mean."

I leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. When I leaned back, I saw a light smile on her face. I gently stroke her cheek and stood up and left after the others.

No ones POV

Evelyn sits on a table, staring out over the passing river. The gunny-sack drops onto the table, startling her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"The only thing that scares me, Mister O'Connell, are your manners.

"Still angry about that I kiss, huh?

"Well, if you call that a kiss."

O'Connell reaches into the gunny-sack and starts pulling out revolvers, pistols, hunting knives, a massive elephant gun, and a half dozen carefully wrapped sticks of dynamite.

"Um, did I miss something? Are we... Are we going

into battle?"

"The last time I was at that place everybody I was with died."

This takes the smile off Evelyn's face. O'Connell starts dismantling and cleaning the guns.

"Lady, there's something out there, you know, something underneath that sand."

"Yes, well, me and Madylinn, who by the way helped the most to save you, were hoping to find a certain artifact. A book, actually. My brother thinks there's treasure. What do you think is out there?"

O'Connell looks into Evelyn's eyes.

"In a word? Evil. The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra is cursed, they call it, "the doorway to hell."

"Ahmar is Ossirion. 'Passageway to the underworld', actually."

She gives him a know-it-all grin.

"Oh look, I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mister O'Connell... but we, me and Maddy, do believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried out there. The Book of Amun-Ra. It contains within it all the secret incantations of the old kingdom. It's what first interested us in Egypt as

children. It's why we came here... sort of a life's pursuit."

"And the fact that they say it's made out of pure gold makes no never mind to you? Right?"

Evelyn is surprised by his knowledge.

"You know your history."

"I know my treasure."

Evelyn gets up to go, then she hesitates, nervous, she turns back to O'Connell, and as matter-of-fact as possible said:

"Um... by the way... why did you kiss me?"

O'Connell, cleaning his guns, just shrugs his shoulders.

"I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Evelyn's eyes widen, furious, she turns and storms off. O'Connell looks up, watching her leave, a bit perplexed.

"What?... What'd I say?"

Then he hears someone snickering under the table. He quickly reaches down, grabs that someone and lifts him up. It was Beni.

"Surprise! My very good friend, you're alive! I was so very very worried."

"Well if it ain't my little buddy Beni. I think I'll kill you."

O'Connell sticks a knife under Beni's throat. Beni swallows hard.

"Think of my children."

"You don't have any children."

"Someday I might."

"Shut up! So you're the one who's leading the Americans. I might have known. What's the scam? You take them into the desert, and then you leave'em to rot?"

"Unfortunately, no. These Americans are smart. They pay me only half now, half when I get them back to Cairo. So this time I must go all the way."

"Them's the breaks, huh?"

O'Connell pulls the knife away. Beni relaxes and rubs his neck.

"You never believed in Hamunaptra, O'Connell. Why are you going back? The devil himself lives out there."

They look as they hear Evelyn yelp. A single camel in the horse paddock takes another bite at her. She yelp again and backs away.

"You see that girl? She, but mostly her cousin Madylinn, saved my neck. Figured it was the last I could do, keep them out of trouble.

"You always did have more balls than brains."

O'Connell's eyes narrow at the insult, he looks back at Beni.

"Let's make us even, shall we?"

"Even?"

"Yeah. Goodbye, Beni."

O'Connell grabs him and chucks him over the side of the barge. Beni splashes into the river.

"O'Connell!"

O'Connell takes his gunny-sack and starts walking off down the deck.

"O'Connell! I am going to kill you for this!"

"Sounds familiar."

And that's when he spots three sets of wet footprints, coming up over the railing from the river and heading down the deck. O'Connell quickly looks around, immediately on the alert.


	7. 5

"George Bembridge... in eighteen-sixty...Hmm. 1865 was... was... Oh, for heaven's sake, girl, it wasn't that good of a kiss anyway."

Evelyn , wearing a nightgown, stood in front of a mirror. She gave her head a good shake, letting her hair fall loose over her bare shoulders. Then she turned around, right there was one of the Medjai. It was Hook. He slammed his hand over her mouth and lifts up his hook, ready to strike.

"Where is the map?"

Evelyn's terrified eyes glanced down.

"It's... It's there..."

Hook looked over, saw the map lying next to a flickering candle on a nearby table.

"And the key? Where is the key?"

Evelyn's eyes look confused. She shook her head.

"The key? What key?"

Hook grinned.

"Then I'll find it myself."

He cocked his hook, about to kill her. And that's when the door is kicked open. O'Connell bursted in, gun in each hand.

"Evelyn!"

Hook spun Evelyn around and holds her out in front of him. O'Connell looks at her.

"Friend of yours?"

Evelyn's eyes widen. And that's when the candle on the table flickers. O'Connel spins around just as a window bursts open. A Medjai leans in and fires a gun. Woodchips blast off the wall next to O'Connell's

head and he returns the fire and kills the Medjai which Mumia fell back, firing blindly. A lantern in the room is blasted. Kerosene splashed across the wall that bursted into flames. Evelyn grabbed the candle on the table and jams it back over her shoulder, right into Hook's eye. He screeched in pain and lets her go. O'Connell grabs her and yanks her out of the flaming room. O'Connell pulls Evelyn down the hall, she tries to jerk free.

"The map! The map! I forgot the map!"

He shoves her up against a wall.

"Relax! I'm the map! It's all up here."

He taps his forehead.

"Oh that's comforting."

O'Connell gives her a look, then pulls her forward.

"C'mon, there's still one more of those guys around here somewhere."

Hot melted wax covers Hook's face as he held his sore eye and struggled to the door. Then he noticed the key/box on the floor.

"The key!"

He bends over to pick it up. And that's when the door was kicked open again, it hits him in the ass and knocks him into the fire. Jonathan leans in. Sees nothing but flames.

"EVY?!"

Then he sees the key/box on the floor and picks it up. A hand suddenly snatches the key/box away from him.

"Hey that's mine..."

Hook's backside is now on fire. He lifts his pistol. Jonathan quickly backpedals out the door as Hook opens fire.

O'Connell and Evelyn raced out onto the deck near the horse paddock. People were screaming and shouting, lots of panic. A chunk of the wall is blown off next to Evelyn's head. O'Connell pivots and fires back. It's the another Medjai, on the other side of the paddock. He and O'Connell exchange gunfire. Another lantern bursted into flames. O'Connell shot off the paddock lock. The horses went nuts. O'Connell fires over their heads. They charge forward and crash through the door. The Medjai screamed as the horses stampede over him. flames sweep up the walls and race across the roof. Half the barge is now on fire. O'Connell throws the gunny-sack over his shoulder.

"Can you swim?"

"Well of course I can swim, if the occasion calls for it."

"Trust me."

He picked her up and throws her over the side.

"The occasion calls for it."

Evelyn splashed into the water. O'Connell dives in after her.

Jonathan ran out onto the bow, saw the three Americans, guns in every hand, fanning their pistols, shooting everything in sight. Jonathan just shakes his head.

"Americans."

Hook suddenly stumbles up behind him, now a flaming torch. Jonathan turns around, Hook grabs him by the throat with his flaming arm and pins him to the cabin wall. Jonathan's eyes widened as he saw a hook rising up inside the flames about to strike him. The Americans pivot and open fire. It blowed Hook over the railing. Jonathan turns to the Americans and smiles.

"I say, bloody good show, chaps!"

Then he points his thumb at himself.

"And did I panic?"

He lifts up his other hand, he has the key/box back.

"I think not."

And that's when the horses stampede onto the bow. Jonathan dives over one side, the three Americans dive over the other.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and the warden wade out of the water. Evelyn's nightgown clings tight to her body as she wrings it out.

"We've lost everything! All our tools, all the equipment. All my clothes!"

Everybody else, including the horses, was getting out on the far shore O'Connell spotted Beni running up to the Americans.

"O'Connell! Hey! O'Connell! It looks to me like I've

got all the horses!"

"Hey Beni! Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

Beni looks up at the stars, then angrily kicks the sand cursing.

"Maddy? MADYLINN!!!!!!!" Evelyn screams.

She ran back into the water and looked frantically over the water to the barge and the other side of the river. Tears welled up in her eyes as she called for her cousin over and over again.

"Madylinn", she whined.

O'Connell walked up to her and embraced her from behind.

The flaming barge drifts off, slowly sinking...

 **Unknown POV**

I heard someone screaming a name and I looked to that direction. There I saw a woman in a nightgown. She reminded me of someone else. As a picture of that beautiful girl from earlier flashed into my mind, I frantically looked to the other riverside. But she was nowhere to be found. Then I heard a glass shattering from the flaming barge and I got a bad feeling. I swam up to the barge and jumped over the railing. My running feet brought me to her flaming room. She herself laid on the ground unconscious. I raced up to her and listened for heartbeat before scooping her up and taking her outside. I jumped over the railing into the water with her on my arms.

 _"Ardeth?"_ someone called for me.

 _"Why did you save her?"_

 _"I couldn't watch her die."_

Once we got on dry land, I gently laid her down and pressed my lips to hers to blow some air into her lungs.

 _"Come on, open your eyes for me!"_

She coughed and inhaled very deep. I smiled relieved. She smiled back and whispered a 'Thank you' before she drifted back to unconsciousness. I heard someone crying and saw that woman who was screaming earlier. They came our way and the others pulled me away. I struggled against their grips, not wanting to leave the girl alone.

"Oh my gosh! Maddy!"

The woman ran up to the girl that, I assumed, was Maddy. She lifted her upper body and hugged her.

"Evelyn?" Maddy whispered.

"Madylinn", a man came up.

Madylinn smiled.

"Jonathan."

"Here let me take her."

The second man in the group walked to her side and scooped her up in his arms.

"There's a little 'city' not far away."

He turns and I watched as he lead the group to that city.

 **No ones POV**

"I only want five! Five! I only want five, not a whole bloody herd! Ohh can you believe this cheek?"

"Just pay the man."

Jonathan forks over some cash. The Trader hands them the reins of four ugly old camels.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. I can't believe the price of these fleabags. Yes happy. Very good."

You probably could've got 'em for free. All you had to do was give him your sister."

"Yes, awfully tempting, wasn't it?"

"Awfully."

And that's when Madylinn andEvelyn stepped out of a trading tent. They've changed into gorgeous, tightly fitted, oriental dresses. Madylinn's dress was a bra-like top and a very long skirt, both colored in different shades of pink and with golden patterns.

"Then again..."

O'Connell, Evelyn, a still weak Madylinn, Jonathan and the warden were on camels in the middle of the frying pan; the endless, sunbaked Sahara.

"Never did like camels. Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit. Disgusting ."

The warden savagely attacks a chicken wing with his vile green teeth. Flies buzz around his head. He sucks at his guns, then spits out some gristle. O'Connell watches him.

"Yeah, disgusting."

Madylinn agreed with a look of the warden. Meanwhile Evelyn was having the time of her life on top of her camel.

"Well I think they're cute."

The moon shone down at the five lone camel rider's trekking across the vast wasteland. Jonathan is sound asleep, his head bobbing comically to the

rhythm of his camel. On the camel next to him, the warden snores loudly. Up in front of them, Evelyn slowly starts to slide off her saddle. O'Connell reaches over and stops her, then gently pushes her back up onto her saddle, never waking her. For a long moment, his eyes watch Evelyn, and then he

looks up at a distant ridge where Ardeth Bay and a group of Medjai riders are pacing them.

"Hey what's the matter?" Madylinn asked.

O'Connell nods to the distant ridge.

"There on the ridge. They were there too went I ran out of Hamunaptra."

Madylinn didn't knew that the leader of the Medjai group was following her with his eyes.

The dawning sun hasn't yet crested the distant horizon as Jonathan and the warden ride alongside a giant sand dune.

"And you snore!"

"I do not snore!"

"All night you snored!"

"I have never snored!"

Up in front of them, O'Connell looks at Evelyn.

"We're almost there."

"Are you sure?"

O'Connell looks down at the ground.

"Pretty sure."

The others look down and see dozens of skeletons sticking out of the ground, bleached and eaten away. Some of the skeletons look like they're trying to crawl up out of the desert floor.

"What in bloody hell is this?"

The warden shivers in fear.

"Other seekers of Hamunaptra."

The American Expedition rides out from behind the far end of the dune. The Americans are accompanied by two dozen native diggers and an Arab Egyptologist. Beni rides lead on a camel, the rest ride horses.

"Good morning, my friend!"

O'Connell just nods. The two parties come to a stop a hundred feet apart. O'Connell turns and stares out across the endless horizon, Beni does likewise. The Americans look puzzled.

"Well, what the hell we doin'?" Daniels asked.

"Patience, my good sahib, patience."

Henderson looks over at O'Connell.

"Remember our bet, O'Connell. First one to the city, five hundred cash bucks. A hundred of the bucks is yours if you help us win that bet", he directed the part to Beni.

"Oh my pleasure. Hey O'Connell. Nice camel."

He looks to Madylinn.

"And a nice toy too."

Madylinn grimaced.

O'Connell and Beni just stare out at the flat nothingness. Evelyn and Jonathan share a look. And then, the sun starts to rise in the distance, breaking the flat horizon.

"Get ready for it."

Evelyn can feel the suspense and the majesty of the moment.

"For what?" Madylinn asked.

"We're about to be shown the way."

Far off to the right, a huge shape begins to rise with the sun; a volcano. O'Connell and Beni watch it, expressionless.

"Will ya look at that."

"Can you believe it?

"Hamunaptra."

"Here we go again."

Daniels , Henderson and Burns share a look.

"HEYA!" the three of them yelled in unison.

The Americans take off, racing towards the rising volcano.

"SEE YA THERE, O'CONNELL!" Daniels yelled.

Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan give O'Connell anxious, sarcastic looks.

"Ah, begging your pardon, but shouldn't we be going?"

"After all, you rode us night and day to win that bet", Madylinn shot.

O'Connell didn't say a word, staring hard. Beni watches the Americans and spits into the sand.

"Fools."

And then suddenly, the volcano shifts across the horizon, passing across the sun as it goes. It's a mirage. The Americans crash their horses to a stop and race the other way, after the volcano. Evelyn and Jonathan smile, amazed. The volcano shifts again, floating across the watery horizon. The Americans crash to a stop again and chase after the volcano. All three of them confused and CURSING. O'Connell and Beni just stared, waiting. The volcano shifts again. And the Americans crash to a stop again. Burns is thrown from his horse. Henderson angrily rips his hat off and chucks it to the ground. Daniels just curses as they give up the chase. The volcano comes to a stop on the far left of the horizon. The Americans are on the far right, nothing moves. And then O'Connell grins, so does Beni. They share a look. And then swat their camels and race away. Everybody else hauls-ass after them. O'Connell and Beni are neck-and-neck. And then Madylinn comes galloping up, hair flying in the wind. Beni takes out his camel whip and starts whipping O'Connell, trying to knock him off his camel. On the third try O'Connell grabs the whip and jerks Beni off his camel. Beni slams to the ground and tumbles. Madylinn and O'Connell race across the desert. Madylinn has never felt so alive. She laughs. O'Connell grins. Beni stumbles to his feet, then quickly dances out of the way as Evelyn, Jonathan and all the other riders stampede past him. Madylinn beats O'Connell to the stone ramp, racing hard.

"Madylinn! Slow down!"

Madylinn ignores him as she raced up the ramp towards the gate.

"SLOW DOWN, MADYLINN! SLOW DOWN! THERE'S A REALLY BIG..."

Madylinn goes ass-over-teacups through the air and crash lands in a sand dune. She sits up, stunned, sandy hair in her eyes. O'Connell stops at the edge of the ramp next to her camel.

"Never mind."

The Americans ride up and look in wonder at the ruins inside the volcano. O'Connell gives them a big, shit-eating grin.

"You boys owe me five hundred dollars."

Under the guidance of the Egyptologist, the Diggers are busy hauling rock and dirt out of the Temple doorway. The three Anericans are playing poker. Beni smokes a hookah and swats flies. Dozens of stray camels roam the decrepit city; dusty backpacks and old saddlebags still slung over their humps.

"Where'd all these camels come from?"

"They belong to the dead. They will wait years for their masters to return before leaving", Beni answered.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Madylinn, Jonathan and the warden are working next to a narrow crevice, which weaves it's way through the ruins. O'Connell ties a rope around a pillar and throws the rest of the coils into the crevice, about to rappel down. Jonathan

bends over to have a look, his ass hits something, he yelps and backs away. It's the decrepit face of Anubis.

"That thing gives me the creeps", Jonathan mumbled.

"Be nice. That thing saved my life", O'Connell said.

Evelyn and Madylinn are positioning ancient mirrors along the crevice.

"That 'thing' gets me excited", Evelyn stated.

The things that get you excited", O'Connell said sarcastically.

"That's a statue of Anubis. It's legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge Scholars, inside the statue of Anubis was a secret compartment, perhaps containing the Book of the Living", Madylinn said, "Jonathan, you're meant to catch the sun with that.

"So, uh, what are these old mirrors for?"

"Ancient mirrors. It's an ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see."

"Uh, here, this is for, uh, you. Go ahead. It's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might like it... you might need it for when you're, uh... uh, yeah."

O'Connell gave the two women each a tool kit. He turns around and saw the warden staring.

"What are you lookin' at?"

"Hey! Look for bugs. I hate bugs."

O'Connell shrugs, then rappels down into the crevice.

O'Connell waved a torch as Jonathan, Madylinn, Evelyn and the warden dropped down next to him. Evelyn peered into the spooky darkness.

"Do you realize, we are standing inside a room that no one has entered in over four thousand years."

"Three thousands", Madylinn corrected her cousin.

"Who cares? I don't see no treasure."

"You're welcome to my share of the spider webs."

"Whoo! What is that god-awful stench. It stinks to high heaven in here."

Evelyn just rolls her eyes.

"Cretins."

Jonathan sniffed the foul air, then he looked at the warden and realized where the smell was coming from. He stopped sniffing. Evelyn brushed cobwebs away from a metal disk on the wall, then repositioned it on it's pedestal, aiming it at a ray of light shining in from the outer mirrors.

"And then there was... light.

The ray of light hits the disk and quickly shot around the room from one disk to another until the whole chamber was lit up. Light rays shot off down the passageways. It's the embalmer's chamber.

"Hey, that is a neat trick."

"Oh my god, It's a sah-netjer?" Madylinn exclaimed excitedly.

"Huh?"

"A preparation room."

"Preparation for what?"

"For entering the afterlife."

O'Connell quickly drew his gun. Jonathan gently nudged him.

"Mummies, my good son. This is where they made the mummies."

Madylinn headed down a narrow passageway. The others followed.

Madylinn, O'Connell , Evelyn and Jonathan crouched as they made their way through a narrow, cobweb infested labyrinth. The short, squat warden could stand straight up. Then they hear something and freeze. It sounded like somebody is clawing inside the walls. They shared looks.

"What the... What was that?"

"Sounds like... bugs."

"He said bugs."

"What do you mean, bugs? I hate bugs."

Then they slowly moved forward, getting darker and darker as they go. The strange sound getting louder and louder, then it stopped. The women held their breaths. Jonathan licked his lips. O'Connell cocked his pistol. The warden farted.

The others glared at him. They slowly crept out of the labyrinth and up to the foot of an enormous half-buried statue, the lower half of Anubis.

"The legs of Anubis. The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here."

Then they heard the sound again, coming closer now, from the other side of the statue. O'Connell pulled the women behind him. The sound got closer. O'Connell raises his gun and leaps out. Three horrible sweaty faces lunge at him. O'Connell reacts, but doesn't pull the trigger because it was just the Americans, their guns were up, cocked and aimed.

"You scared the be jesus out of us, O'Connell", Henderson said.

"Likewise."

But nobody lowered their guns. Daniels grinned.

"Have a nice day, gentlemen. We have a lot of work to be getting along with."

"Push off. This is our dig site."

"We got here first."

"This here's our statue, friend."

"I don't see your name written on it,... pal."

And that's when Beni, five Diggers and the Egyptologist stepped out of the shadows, all holding guns aimed at O'Connell.

"Ten to one, O'Connell, your odds are not so great."

"I've had worse."

Jonathan clenches a tiny derringer.

"Yeah, me too."

O'Connell gave him a sideways glance. Beni cocked his gun, grinning, he wanted it to happen. The tension thickened. Then Evelyn gently took O'Connell's gun hand and pulled it down.

"Oh, look, for goodness' sake, let's be nice, children. If we're going to play together, we must learn to share. There are other places to dig."

Madylinn pulled O'Connell away. Evelyn, Jonathan and the warden followed. Beni and the Americans slowly lowered their guns, laughing. The Egyptologist excitedly began translating the hieroglyphs.

O'Vonnel and Jonathan were using sledge-hammers against the ceiling. Evelyn was gently chipping away with a tiny chisel.

"According to these hieroglyphs, we're underneath the statue. We should come upright between his legs."

"When those damn dirty Yanks go to sleep..."

-he looks at O'Connell-

"No offense."

"None taken."

"We'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them."

"And you're sure we can find this secret compartment?"

"Oh yes, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it. No offense."

"None taken."

Jonathan looks around.

"Where'd our smelly friend got to?"

The Warden crawled into a dark chamber and lighted a torch. A mural wall came alive. Embedded into it were dozens of black amethyst scarabs; glittering images of the sacred beetles.

"Hey. What have we here? Blue gold."

Awestruck, the Warden pulled out a pocket knife and started prying away at one of the precious bugs.

"This will fetch a mighty fine price."

Beni and the Americans hovered around the Egyptologist, who's found the secret compartment inside Anubis. The Egyptologist brushed sand away from the seam.

"Let's get us some treasure."

Henderson stepped forward and grabbed the seam, the Egyptologist quickly stopped him.

"Careful! Seti was no fool. I think perhaps we should let the diggers open it, hmm?"

Henderson saw the intense look in the Egyptologist's eyes.

"I think we should listen to the good doctor, Henderson."

"Yeah, sure."

He looked back at the native Diggers.

"We'll let them open it."

The Egyptologist nodded, then yelled in Egyptian at the Diggers.

 _"Zee-eda."_

The Diggers hesitated, filled with fear. Daniels pulled out his gun and aimed it at three of the Diggers. The three Diggers hesitantly stepped forward with crowbars and stuck them into the seams. The other Diggers backed away, scared. Beni and the Americans exchanged looks, and then they back away as well.

"Let me get this straight. They ripped out your guts and stuffed them in jars."

"They'd take out your heart as well. You know how they took out your brains?" Evelyn asked.

"I don't think we need to know this", Jonathan said.

"They'd take a sharp, red-hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about a bit and then rip it all out through your nostrils", Madylinn explained before her cousin could do it.

"OWCH! That's gotta hurt", O'Connell said with his eyes on Madylinn and touching his nose.

"It's called mummification. You'll be dead when they do this."

"Still..."

"Yeah, that'd bring you back to life."

"You two are worse than a couple of schoolboys", Madylinn mumbled.

"If I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification", O'Connell demanded with a bit of a disgusted look on his face.

"Likewise", Jonathan agreed.

And that's when a huge chunk of the roof suddenly gave out. O'Connell grabbed Madylinn and jerked her clear. Evelyn and Jonathan dove for the far wall. A massive stone casement dropped out of the ceiling and crashed to the floor. Dust flies filled the room.

"Oh my god. It's a... It's a sarcophagus. Buried at the base of Anubis. He must have been someone of great importance. ... Or he did something very naughty."

"Something tells me that it is the second", Madylinn mumbled.


	8. 6

Having heard the crash, Beni and the Americans had their guns pointed at the floor. The Egyptologist could care less, he looked at the Diggers, gripping their crowbars, and yelled.

"FENI!"

The three diggers pulled hard. The ancient seams start to give, the Egyptologist yelled again. The diggers pulled harder. The compartment started to loosen. Again he yelled. The diggers gave one final pull and an intense burst of liquid sprays out of the seam, it hit the three diggers melted their skin clean off. They screamed, dying horribly, half skeletal by the time they hit the ground.

The dust was starting to clear. O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan slowly got up and stepped over to the massive stone casement.

"Oh my god,... it looks like... it looks like a sarcophagus", Evelyn said.

"Why would they bury somebody in the ceiling?"

"They didn't, they buried him at the foot of Anubis. He either must have been someone of great importance. Or he did something very naughty", Madylinn said the last part nervously."

"Oh, Allah. One more. One more."

The warden dropped an amethyst-scarab into his pouch, then greedily started prying away at another. It ripped off, he drops it into his pouch, -- only he missed, and this scarab quietly fell to the sandy floor without the warden noticing. The scarab begins to transform. The amethyst started to glow. Something inside started to wiggle; as if the amethyst were some sort of strange cocoon. Then it split open and a real live hideous scarab beetle scurried out. It raced over to the warden's shoe, quickly burrowed into the leather and vanished inside. The wardens eyes flew open. He started to scream, dropped his knife and frantically starts clawing away at his pant leg, higher and higher until he rips open his shirt revealing a large, hideous lump, burrowing under his skin.

"Help me! Help me!" he screamed.

It burrowed it's way up his fat belly and across his hairy chest. The warden clawed and scratched at it, trying to stop it. The lump burrowed up his neck. The Warden started gagging and coughing. And then the scarab-lump vanished into his head.

Madylinn cleared the dirt off the top of the sarcophagus, revealing a single, ominous hieroglyph. Evelyn stares at it Jonathan impatiently strummed his fingers across the lid.

"Well?... Who is it?" he asked.

Evelyn stares at the hieroglyph, confused and concerned.

"He that shall not be named", Madylinn translated.

O'Connell dusted off the huge lock.

"This looks like some sort of lock here. You say these thing's are made of granite with a steel interior?"

"Quarried granite with a cobalt lining."

"Well whoever's in here, sure wasn't getting out."

"Yeah no kidding. It'd take us a month to crack into this thing without a key."

"A key? A key! That's it! That's what he was talking about."

"Who was talking about what?"

Evelyn started rummaging through the pack on Jonathan's back.

"The man on the barge. The one with the hook. He was looking for a key."

Evelyn pulled out the key/box. Jonathan tried to take it back.

"Hey that's mine!" he complained.

Evelyn slapped his hand and quickly unfolded the box that was now shaped exactly like the lock's keyhole. Madylinn smiles. And that's when they heard the warden's screams echoing through the labyrinth. All three of them turned and took-off running.

The warden is screaming and dancing insanely around the labyrinth, totally freaked from the extreme pain in his head. O'Connell, Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan ran up just as the Warden

started ripping his own hair out of his head. O'Connell and Jonathan grabbed at the warden's hands, but he's far too crazed, he shoved them aside, ran full bore down the length of the labyrinth and slams his head straight into a rock wall. The warden drops to the ground, dead as lead, eyes wide open.

O'Connel, the two women and Jonathan just stood there staring, breathing hard, wide-eyed themselves...

The three Carnahans were nuzzled up to a campfire.

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evelyn asked.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Jonathan asked.

"Nope", Madylinn answered, popping the 'p', "But I don't think it was because of this. It's something else."

O'Connell comes up over some rocks.

"Seems the Americans had a little misfortune of their own today. Three of their diggers were, uh... melted."

"How?"

"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some sort of ancient booby-trap."

"Maybe this place really is cursed", Jonathan mumbled.

A gust of wind blew through the camp. The campfire flickered O'Connell and Jonathan shared a nervous

look.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, you two!"

"You don't believe in curses, huh?" O'Connell asked Evelyn.

"No, I don't. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe."

O'Connell cocked his rifle and gave her a big grin.

"I believe in being prepared."

"Lets see what our friend the warden believed in."

"What do you believe in Madylinn?"

Jonathan opened the warden's pouch, the one that held the scarabs. He reached in, started scrounging around. Jonathan screamed in pain and ripped his hand back out of the pouch. The other three jumped.

"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!"

"My God what is it?"

Jonathan sucked his finger, then reached back into the pouch and pulled out a liquor bottle, the top had been chipped off.

"A broken bottle. Glenlivet. Twelve years old."

Jonathan smiled at the bottle, then turned the pouch inside out and shook it, nothing but sand was inside it.

"Well, he may have been a stinky fellow,... but he had good taste."

Jonathan took a swig. O'Connell and Evelyn laughed, guiltily but Madylinn just yawned. O'Connell suddenly kneeled down and stuck his ear

to the sand. The other three watched him. And then

a barage of gunfire is heard coming from the American camp. O'Connell jumped up and threw the elephant gun to Evelyn.

"Stay here!"

He took off running through the ruins. Evelyn immediately got up and ran after him. Jonathan grabbed a gun, held the bottle of Glenlivets tight and dashed after her.

"No, wait, wait! Wait for me. Wait!"

"Evy! Excuse me, but didn't the man just say 'Stay here'?"

"Evy!" Madylinn yelled after her cousin and ran behind them.

The American camp was under siege. Two dozen Medjai riders galloped through, firing rifles. Several diggers were killed as they ran. The Americans leapt out of their tents firing, killing multiple riders. Daniels was shot, spun and fell, but kept shooting. Henderson and Burns ran to his aid, blasting away.

O'Connell raced through the ruins and slammed right into Beni, who was obviously trying to high-tail-it out of there.

"Goin' somewhere?"

"Just looking for you, O'Connell! I wanted to be with my friend!"

O'Connell dragged him back towards the American camp.

"C'mon, friend."

"Why do you like to fight so much?" Beni asked struggling.

"'Cause I look good doin, it."

Next to a pillar was Madylinn. She was trying to hide from the fight, she didn't have any weapons nor knowledge about hand-to-hand combat. A Medjai came up behind her and raised his arms with his scimitar to strike. But Madylinn saw the shadow, turned and backed away. As she kept walking backwards, the man kept swinging his scimitar, which resulted in Madylinn's arms and waist to be cut more than one time and herself to stumble and fall to the ground. She tried to scoot away but was to slow. She held her hands up in surrender, hoping the man would spare her life when his arm was grabbed by someone else.

Ardeth Bay was holding the Medjai's arm, who left the two alone.

"Madylinn?"

Madylinn was confused.

'How does he know my name?'

"How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember?" He asked with his thick accent.

Madylinn shook her head. Ardeth sighed. He stepped closer and reached a hand out. She took it and let him help her up onto her legs. He just let go of one hand and pulled her a bit closer. Slowly leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. An image flashed into her mind. It was of her laying on the side of the river and Ardeth leaning over her and trying to get her to wake up.

"You saved me from the flaming barge. And..."

She blushed at the memory of him kissing her. But she leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. When they parted, Ardeth was tackled from O'Connell in a blink. The two men slammed to the ground. O'Connell spins up onto one knee and fires, pointed

blank, it blowed the scimitar out of Ardeth's hand. O'Connell was about to shoot again

-"No please", Madylinn whined-

when a horse rode up between them. A scimitar swooped down, it almost took O'Connell's head off, missed him by an inch. Madylinn yelped as she saw that. O'Connell leapt up and blew the rider off his mount. The horse bolted, but Ardeth was gone. Madylinn turned around and looked in every direction, but she didn't find him. Meanwhile Evelyn hid behind some rocks, watching the scene, suddenly, she heard something coming up behind her and spun around. A vicious tattooed Medjai rider raced at her. Evelyn quickly backpedaled over the rocks, terrified. The Medjai rider raised his scimitar, about to strike. Evelyn screams, trips over a rock and fires the elephant which blew the Rider off his mount and catapulted him twenty feet back into some ruins. At the same time, the kick blew Evelyn off her feet and over a ridge. She flails through the air and lands in a sand dune. Jonathan and some diggers are holding their own near the temple door. Four Riders come charging right at them. Jonathan takes a swig off the Glenlivets.

"Let 'em have it, boys!"

Jonathan and the diggers opened fire. When the smoke clears, the riders are either dead or gone. Jonathan grins.

"I say, bloody good show."

And then several more Medjai leapt off the temple and land behind them. Jonathan and the remaining Diggers spun around and suddenly found themselves in hand-to-hand combat. O'Connell was quickly loading his pistol. He heard something thundering up behind him. He spun around just as Ardeth swung his scimitar. O'Connell instinctively raised his hands to protect his face, the scimitar stroke. It hit his gun, and flips it away. Disarmed, O'Connell dived and rolled and suddenly came up with a stick of dynamite in his hand. He shoved the fuse into a fire, it ignited. He faced Ardeth, standing in front of him, with Madylinn at his side. The two

men locked eyes. The fuse continued tinues to burn down. Ardeth points his scimitar at O'Connell's head.

"You must leave this place!... Leave this place or die!"

Ardeth jumped on a horse and galloped off. The remaining Medjai riders raced after him, vanishing into the night. O'Connell watched them leave, then turned to the burning fuse,... and blew it out. Evelyn

staggers up, looking very shaken. O'Connell gently took her and holds her close.

"Are you alright?"

Evelyn looked up into his strong eyes. It's the first time he'd shown genuine concern for her. And she liked it. He was also holding her a little too close. And she liked that too.

"Yes, I'm fine,... thank you."

Beni crawled out from under some pillars as Henderson and Burns helped Daniels to his feet.

"See! That proves it! Old Seti's fortune's gotta be under this sand!" Daniels exclaimed.

"For them to protect it like this, you just know there's got to be treasure down there", Henderson continued.

O'Connell looked up into the surrounding ridges, unsatisfied.

"No, these men are a desert people. They value water, not gold."

"You know, maybe just at night, we could, uh, combine forces and be friends, hmm?"

"That reminds me, Madylinn!"

O'Connell looked to the girl he called to and saw her staring to where the Medjai rode off.

"Hey Madylinn!"

He waves a hand in front of her face, which snapped her back to the present.

"Yes?"

"Who was that friend of yours?"

She looked at him confused.

"Oh come on, don't give me this confused look! You know what I mean. ... The guy you kissed?"

Evelyn looked at O'Connell and then at her cousin.

"What? What guy?"

"The one who demanded that we leave or die."

Evelyn turned to her cousin. She was going to say something when Madylinn interrupted her.

"It's none of your concern", she said and stalked off.

She had seen a familiar person on top of a hill, who also had waved at her. She went to the top of that hill and wasn't surprised to find Ardeth. He embraced her with his strong arms.

"Why did you save me? Back on the barge."

"I felt I needed to do it. And that... you may play an important role... in my life too."

"I would love to be someone important in someone's life."

"I don't know why but you seem very familiar and I feel a bond between us. I have the need to protect you. And I can't keep myself at distance from you."

"Then don't..."

Madylinn leaned up and kissed him like she did before. She shivered as wind came by. Ardeth chuckled.

"Come here."

He whistled and his horse laid down. He sat down and Madylinn cuddled into his said. His body heat warmed her up and she wasn't freezing anymore. Someone stepped next to them.

"Ardeth."

Madylinn didn't understand the next thing the Medjai said. But when he was gone, she turned to the Medjai beside her.

"Ardeth."

He turned his face to her.

"I like this name."

He smiled and pulled her closer.

"I like yours too. Now go to sleep. I will watch over you."

O'Connell and Evelyn laughed, both half-in-the-bag themselves, the bottle of Glenlivets was almost gone. O'Connell offered the bottle to Evelyn, she waved it away, slurring badly.

"Unlike my brother, sir... I know when to say no", the drunk woman said.

O'Connell polished off the bottle and chucked it away.

"And unlike your brother, miss... you, I just don't get. You're a whole new brew."

"I know. You're wondering, what is a place like me doing in a girl like this?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Egypt is in my blood. You see, my... my father... was a very, very famous explorer... and he loved Egypt so

much... that he married my mother,who was an Egyptian... and quite an adventurer herself."

"Okay, I get your father and I get your mother... and, uh... I get him, but... what are you doing here?"

Evelyn is insulted, she staggers to her feet.

"Look, I-I may not be... an explorer... or- or an

adventurer... or a treasure seeker or a gunfighter... Mister O'Connell... but I am proud of what I am.

"And what is that?"

Evelyn plopped back down beside him, really drunk, she grinned and proudly lifts her head high.

"I... I am a librarian."

She leaned in, very close to his face and looked him in the eyes,

"And I am going to kiss you... Mister O'Connell."

"No you're not."

"I'm not?"

"Not unless you call me Rick."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because that's my name."

She gave him a goofy smile.

"Oh, Rick."

He leaned forward and kissed her. Evelyn's eyes slowly closed. And then she passed out, slumping into his arms. O'Connell looked down at her and just smiles.

Evelyn's hand slipped the key into the sarcophagus, lock and turned it. A series of strange mechanical-like sounds were heard, and then the sarcophagus unlocked with a giant hiss. The little group of four all looked very, very hungover. They started to slide the heavy lid off the sarcophagus. Pushing, shoving and groaning, the lid budging, inch by inch.

"I can't believe I allowed the two of you to get me drunk."

"Don't blame me, I don't even remember being there."

"Well neither do I, thank you."

O'Connell gave her a hurt look.

"You don't?"

Evelyn gave O'Connell a nervous look.

"No... Why?... Should I?"

"Gee, yeah, you told me it was the best time you ever had."

O'Connell gave her a big cheesy smile. Evelyn's face dropped, appalled and embarrassed. And that's when the lid fell off and loudly crashed to the ground. All four of them instantly grabbed their sore heads and moan.

Several fear-filled, sweaty-faced diggers reached into the secret compartment. Henderson and Burns held guns on them. Daniels had his arm in a sling. The diggers slowly pulled out the ornate chest. They set the chest down on the sandy floor. Beni watched as the Egyptologist translated the hieratics.

"There is a curse upon this chest", he said.

"Curse my ass."

"Yeah, who cares?"

The Egyptologist gives them the evil-eye.

"Have a care, Mr. Henderson. In these hallowed grounds, that which was set forth in ancient times... is as strong today as it was then."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. We understand. What's it say?"

The Egyptologist slowly and carefully read the inscription:

"Death will come on swift wings... to whom soever opens this chest."

A gust of wind blows through the chamber, torches flickered. All the diggers suddenly turned tail and ran off screaming. The Americans looked at each other, suddenly very nervous.

"We should not be here. This is not good", Beni said scared.

"It says, 'There is one... the undead... who, if brought back to life, is bound by sacred law... to consummate this curse."

"Yeah, well, let's just make sure we don't bring anyone back from the dead then, huh?"

The three Americans laughed.

"He will kill all who open this chest... and assimilate their organs and fluids."

"Assimilate their organs and fluids? Ya mean eat 'em?"

"And in so doing, he will regenerate... and no longer be the undead... but a plague upon this earth."

The wind whistled, torches flickered. Beni and the Egyptologist shared a fear-filled look. Henderson just shrugged.

"Well we didn't come all this way for nothin'. Hell, let's open it anyways."

Imothep's wooden coffin was dropped to the ground next to his stone sarcophagus. Evelyn was very excited.

"Oh my god, I've dreamed about this ever since I was a little girl."

"You dream about dead guys?"

"Whoa my cousin is weirder than me", Madylinn mumbled.

Evelyn just gave her a look.

"Well I think it's otherwise. I wouldn't jump to the next enemy and kiss him."

"He is not the enemy!"

She turned around and left. Evelyn then started brushing dirt and cobwebs off the top of the coffin. Then she froze.

"Look, all the sacred spells have been chiseled off. The hieratics and hieroglyphs that protect the deceased on his journey into the afterlife, they've been removed. This man must her been condemned not only in this life but in the next."

O'Connell and Jonathan are too excited to care.

"Tough break."

"Yeah, I'm all tears, now let's see who's inside, shall we?"

Evelyn couldn't believe these guys. Jonathan inserted the key/box into the coffin's lock and turned it. The lid cracked open with a hiss. They all reacted to the foul stench.

"Madylinn's lucky to not smell this", O'Connell who the grabbed the lid.

No one noticed Evelyn's look getting a bit darker before lighting up again. O'Connell pulled the lid with all his might. Jonathan helped him. It started to give way, slowly. And then it suddenly popped open and a hideous, maggot infested, rotten corpse jumped up.

"AHHHHH!!!"

They all jumped back, scared to death. Imhotep is now the 'Elephant Man' of corpses; twisted and deformed. The years have not been kind. He slumped back into his coffin.

"Oh my god, I hate it when these things do that."

Henderson and Daniels started to pry at the lid of the wooden chest. Beni and the Egyptologist watched. In the background, Beni started backing away, filled with fear, sweating buckets.

"It's the curse. It's the curse. It's the curse! Beware of the curse! Beware!"

Beni turned and bolted from the chamber. Daniels spit.

"Stupid superstitious bastard."

And that's when the seal broke, a black vapor blasted out of the chest. Everybody vanished into the strange cloud.

O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan slowly crept forward and carefully looked back inside Imhotep's coffin, creeped-out.

"Is he supposed to look like that?"

"No. I've never seen a mummy look like this before. He's, he's still... still..."

"Juicy?"

"Yes. He's more than three thousand years old and, well, it looks as if he's still decomposing."

"Hey look at that."

O'Connell pointed at the inside of the coffin lid, where there were fingernail scratches and dried blood all over the inside.

"What do you make of this?"

"My god, these marks were made with... fingernails. This man, he was buried alive."

This sends a chill through everyone. Evelyn leans in closer.

"And he left a message."

"It says: 'Death is only the beginning.'"

Jonathan shivered. O'Connell looked around.

"Where's my gun?"

"What are you going to do? Shoot him?"

"If he decides to wake up, hell yes!"

The vapor was settling. The Americans had their guns aimed at the chest. The Egyptologist slowly stepped up, reached inside, and lifted out a heavy burlap bag. Everyone's eyes widened in excitement as he stuck his hand into the bag and slowly pulled out the black Book of the Dead, the same book

Imothep used in his attempt to bring Anck-su-namun back to life.

"Oh my god. It does exist. The Book of the Dead. I have heard told of this book, but I never truly believed it existed."

"A book? Who cares about a book? Where's the treasure?"

"This, good gentlemen, is a most priceless treasure.

Henderson kicked the sandy floor in anger.

"Hell, I wouldn't trade ya for a brass spittoon!"

"Yeah! It's supposed to be made outta pure gold!"

Daniels kicked the chest. It broke open, unfolding to reveal a lower compartment. Inside, were Anck-su-namun's five jewel encrusted canopic jars, one was shattered and without jewels.

"Look at that."

"There's your treasure, gentlemen."

"Now we're onto something."

The two camps had now joined together. O'Connell and Beni were roasting chunks of hairy meat over a fire. Jonathan wrinkled his nose, disgusted by the smell.

"What is this stuff? It smells like our late friend, the warden."

O'Connell and Beni both grinned. Jonathan looked horrified.

"You did not!?... We're not!?"

"Rat gizzards", Madylinn said who sat down beside him.

"They smell bad and taste worse, but that's the best the desert has to offer", O'Connell said.

The gloating Americans sit down, fondling their jeweled jars.

"Say O'Connell, whadaya think these babies'll fetch back home?"

"We hear you boys found yourselves a nice gooey mummy. Congratulations."

"Ya know if ya dry that fella out, you might be able to sell him for firewood."

The Americans laughed.

"Let me guess. I'm lucky that I wasn't there", Madylinn said.

"Yeah. If I would've known, I would've ran off with you", Jonathan mumbled, but still loud enough for the others to hear.

"Got that scared little lady?" Henderson joked.

"No. It's not because of that."

"Is it because she insulted you with your 'I kissed the stranger man that invaded our camp'?"

Madylinn nodded.

"Which stranger man?"

Madylinn looked up and saw her cousin walking towards them.

"Here comes the devil of insulting", she said, only for the group around the fire to hear.

Evelyn walked up, sat down and dropped a pile of big dusty bug skeletons onto the ground.

"Look what I found. Scarab skeletons."

"Huh?"

"Flesh eaters", Madylinn quickly said, earning a cold look from her cousin.

"I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years feasting on the flesh of a corpse, or in this case... our friend was still alive when they started eating him."

O'Connell and Jonathan stared at the bug skeletons, disgusted.

"Are you saying somebody threw these things in with our guy, and then they slowly ate him alive?" O'Connell asked disbelievingly.

"Very slowly."

"He certainly was not a popular fellow when they planted him."

"Must of got a little too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter", O'Connell said jokingly.

"He suffered the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved for only the most evil

blasphemers. It was never mentioned anywhere of this curse actually having been performed", Madylinn threw in, despite the looks Evelyn send her.

"That bad huh?"

"Yes, they never used it because they feared it so. It's written, that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever

arise, he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

"The ten plagues?... You mean all ten plagues?"

"Like what that Moses guy did to that pharaoh guy?" Beni asked.

"That's one way of putting it", Madylinn answered.

"Let's see, there was frogs, flies, locusts..." Jonathan started.

"Hail and fire", Burns continued.

"The sun turning black", Henderson said.

"Water turning to blood", Daniels mumbled.

"And my personal favorite: people covered in boils and sores."

"Eeeeew, Jonathan."

All the men shared nervous looks, really spooked. Evelyn just laughed at them, then pulled a meat stick out of the fire.

"Fried gizzard anyone?" she asked.

"No thanks", Madylinn mumbled and stood up, "I'm going to bed."

Evelyn smirked.

"Really? Or are you secretly jumping into bed with a certain stranger?"

"Would you stop it already? What did I ever do to you?"

Tears threatened to spill but she turned and ran to her tent. She heard Evelyn snicker behind her.

"Evelyn, really?"

"What? It's funny."

"No it's not. How would you feel if you were in her place?"

Jonathan stood up and walked after his cousin.


	9. 7

Having just freshened up for bed, Evelyn exited the temple and stepped past the sleeping diggers. She spotted the Egyptologist, his jeweled canopic jar snugged under one arm, the Book of the Dead laying loose under the other. Evelyn stared at the Book, nervously biting her lip, then she sneaked over, carefully stole it, and quickly tip-toed away.

"That's called stealing, you know"

Laying on some blankets by the campfire, O'Connell rolled over and saw Evelyn, sitting wide-eyed, staring at the Book.

"According to you and my brother... it's called borrowing."

"I thought the Book of Amun-Ra's made out of gold."

"It is made out of gold. This isn't the Book of Amun-Ra. I think this may be the Book of the Dead."

"The Book of the Dead? Are you sure you want to be playin, around with that?"

"It's just a book, no harm ever came from a book.

Evelyn opened the cover. The fire flickered. She and O'Connell share a nervous look, then Evelyn shrugged and started reading.

" _Ahmun Ra. Ahmun Dei._ It speaks of the night and of the day."

Evelyn continued reading the book aloud in ancient Egyptian.

Suddenly Imhotep's his crusty eyelids popped open, revealing empty sockets.

 **Madylinn's POV**

Dream

Someone was walking through an ancient and bright corridor.

 _"Ama-Nenet."_

The person turned around, but I couldn't see the face. But I could clearly see, that it was a young woman.

 _"My lady, your father wishes to speak with you."_

The woman walked gracefully to the throne room were her father sat on the throne. Another person was standing in front of him. When the pharaoh saw his daughter walking up, he stood and made his way over to her.

 _"My dear daughter, please greet Imothep, my high priest. And your future husband."_

Dream end

The dream slowly started to fade when I heard the Egyptologist yell. The Egyptologist salt bolt upright. Quickly looks around, I followed his eyes and we both saw Evelyn reading a Book. He got up and ran for her.

"NO! NOOOO! YOU MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK!"

He skidded to a stop as a strange, piercing whine is heard, coming from out in the desert. O'Connell and the others all leapt to their feet. The Americans ran out of their tents. The sound got louder and closer. And then from out of the darkness a huge wall of locusts swirled into camp and envelops everyone. O'Connell grabbed Evelyn, and Jonathan took my hand and yanked me up. We raced for the crevice, trying to fend off the horrid vermin as we went. Beni and the Americans ran for the temple. I looked back and saw that the Egyptologist was covered in locusts. He stared at the Book of the Dead, looking haunted.

"What have we done?"

O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and me raced down the labyrinth, slapping at ourselves and picking locusts out of our hair.

"Did you see that!? Grasshoppers! Billions of grasshoppers!"

"That's one of the plagues, right? The grasshopper plague!"

"This is not a plague. It's generational. Every so many years the locusts of Egypt have a population

explosion and they all take flight."

I shook my head at her. Evelyn stepped forward, something squished. O'Connell lowered his torch, the entire floor was filled with slimy frogs.

"Okay,... and what about frogs?"

 **(Not M's POV)**

The Americans, Beni and the diggers raced into a passageway. Burns is knocked down, his bifocals skittered across the ground, they get crushed in the stampede. Burns staggered to his feet, squinting. Blurry figures vanished into the darkness,

"Daniels! Henderson!"

 **(Back to M's POV)**

The ground under O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and me started to shake. Then suddenly, right in front of us, hundreds of chittering scarab beetles boil up out of the sand. They started to scurry towards us. Evelyn screamed. Jonathan screamed. I screamed.

Even O'Connell almost screamed. We turn around and haul ass.

 **(Not M's POV)**

Burns staggered down a passageway, squinting, his hands out in front of him, groping, trying not to bump into anything. Then ten feet in front of him, a dark, blurry figure stepped out.

"Who's there?Daniels? Henderson... is that you?"

Burns half-blindly staggered forward. The figure didn't move. Burns tripped, stumbled forward towards the Figure, his hands reached out and sunk into Imhotep's putrid chest cavity. Burns jumped like a scalded cat, pulled his hands out and looked at

them. His hands were covered in molten flesh rot. He started to scream. A skeletal hand clamped over his mouth.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Madylinn and Jonathan raced up the staircase, just ahead of the mass of scurrying, chittering scarabs. O'Connell leapt out onto a pedestal. Jonathan jumped up next to him. Madylinn and Evelyn jumped up into a grotto on the other side of the narrow stairway. The horrible herd of vicious scarabs scurried between them, their ear-piercing chitters send shivers up Madylinn's spine. The two women leaned back and the wall suddenly moved. They fell backwards through an opening. O'Connell and Jonathan watched the scarabs vanish up the staircase. Then they looked across the way, the two females were gone.

"MADDY!? EVY!?"

 **Madylinn's POV**

Evelyn sat up, me following her lead and we shook the sand out of our hair, fearfully looking around. It was almost pitch black. We got up and felt our way along the dark walls. We then rounded a corner. A shaft of moonlight filtered in through a crack in the ceiling. A man stood in the middle of the room. Evelyn walked towards him.

"Oh thank goodness, you're one of the Anericans, aren't you? I was just starting to get scared. We've lost everyone."

"Mr. Burns?" I asked.

Just as Evelyn reached him he turned around. Both of his eyes were missing. He stared at us with vacant sockets. We both screamed in horror and backed away, hyperventilating. I bumped into something. I screamed again and spun around. A mummy. A walking and living mummy. With two fresh eyeballs in his sockets. I screamed again along with Evelyn and we backed away into a wall. The mummy squinted.

 _"Anck -su-namun?"_

 **(Not M's POV)**

O'Connell is feeling his way around inside the grotto

"Damn-it! Must be a trap door. There's gotta be a switch or something around he someplace."

Then they heard men screaming and suddenly, Henderson, Daniels and one of the Diggers came running down the stairs.

"RUN, YOU SONS OF BITCHES! RUUUUN!" Henderson yelled.

O'Connell and Jonathan joined them as they heard the herd of chittering scarabs coming their way. The digger suddenly tripped and fell. O'Connell slowed down, about to go back and help him. But it was too late. The digger screamed in horror as the herd of scarabs ran over him, eating straight through him, leaving behind the digger's half eaten skeleton. Daniels, Henderson and Jonathan reacted in horror. O'Connell was already running, racing right past them. The others turned and haul ass.

 **(Back to M's POV)**

The mummy stepped forward, the sand around him seemed to magnetize, swirling and dancing around his flaking skeletal legs. Evelyn starts backing away, horrified, looking at Burns.

"Help us,... please,... help us", she whined.

Burns opened his mouth, but could only gurgle and moan because his tongue was missing. The mummy grabbed him, threw him to the ground and set his skeletal foot on Burns' chest, like a big game hunter standing on his kill. The mummy then parted his fetid lips, a fresh tongue flapped between his rotted teeth. That was too much for Evy. She screamed and ran, leaving me alone with this creepy thing.

 _"ANCK-SU-NAMUUUUUN!!!!"_

When Evy was gone, he saw me still standing there. He slowly stepped towards me, causing me to back away more and more to a wall which I hit my back with just seconds later.

 _"Ama-Nenet. Kadeesh pharos, my princess."_

He came closer and closer, extending his skeletal hand. But I didn't take it. I was scared that I thought I would wet my pants, but that didn't happen. Instead my stomach decided to make a turn as the mummy leaned more forward. It looked like he was trying to kiss me. I held my hands in front of my face, trying to block him. A few seconds went by when someone grabbed my wrists and pulled me in for a kiss. I was relieved when I felt the warm and soft lips I knew all too well.

"Are you okay?" Ardeth asked me concerned.

"I am. For now. As long as I'm not alone."

He took my hand and started walking, but my legs gave up and my knees buckled. Ardeth turned around in time and caught me in his arms.

"I think it's better if I carry you."

He scooped me up and I laid my head on his shoulder. I was exhausted. But I couldn't rest yet. I wanted to get out of this hell hole first.

 **No ones POV**

Sand and wind whipped through the ruins as O'Connell and Evelyn stumbled up out of the crevice and come face-to-face with ten armed Medjai. They quickly raised their guns. O'Connell and Evelyn quickly raised their hands. Jonathan, Henderson,

Daniels and the Egyptologist were already on their knees, hands over their heads. Ardeth stepped forward with Madylinn in his arms.

"I told you to leave or die. You refused. And now you may have killed us all... for you have unleashed a creature that we have feared for more than three thousand years."

"Relax, I got him."

"No mortal weapons can kill this creature. He is not of this world."

"Are we talkin, about the same creature? The walking corpse? Really big mouth? Really bad breath? And besides what are you doing with Madylinn?"

Beni slowly backed up around Anubis, eyes wide, gun up. He turned around and Imhotep was right there. Beni screamed, backed away and opened fire. Six gunshots perforated Imhotep, but had no effect except to splatter molten flesh rot onto the back wall. Beni retreated into a corner, scared. Imothep moved forward, his one hand trying to stop the molten mummy guts from oozing out of the large shotgun hole in his side. Beni dropped his gun and grabbed at the chains around his neck, religious symbols and icons dangled from each chain. Beni held the first one up: A christian crucifix. He quickly made the sign of-the cross and blessed himself in English.

"May the good Lord protect and watch over me... as a shepherd watches over his flock. And may Satan in all his forms be vanquished forever", Beni prayed.

It had no effect on Imhotep, who continued forward. Beni quickly grabbed at the other symbols and icons, holding them out towards Imhotep, one after the other, trying to slow his progress: an Islamic Sword and Crescent Moon necklace; a Hindu Brahma medallion; a small Buddhist Bodhisattva statue. All while blessing himself in Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and Latin. Nothing worked. Imhotep's skeletal hand reached for Beni's throat. Tears ran down Beni's cheeks, he was so freaked. And that's when he held up the star of David and blessed himself in Hebrew. Imhotep stopped in his tracks. He lowered his hand. His grotesque new eyeballs stared at Beni.

 _"The language of the slaves."_

Beni looked at him quizzically. Imhotep took a step back.

 _"I may have use for you. And the rewards will be great."_

Imothep reached into his tattered robe, and then held out his fetid hand, filled with squirming maggots. Beni cringed, about to throw up, but then the maggots part, revealing a tiny pile of little jewels. Beni's eyes widened.

"My prince."

Imhotep raised his other hand, it held Anck-su-namun's broken canopic jar.

 _"Where are the other sacred jars?"_

Several Medjai dragged Burns up, he stared out with vacant sockets. Daniels and Henderson were especially horrified.

"You bastards!" Daniels exclaimed.

"What did you do to him!?"

"We saved him! Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now leave, all of you, quickly, before

he finishes you all", Ardeth said.

"You're not going to kill us?" Jonathan asked.

Evelyn elbowed her brother in his ribs.

"We must now hunt him down, and try and find a way to kill him, before he consumes the earth. Allah be with us", Ardeth continued.

He let go of Madylinn and he and the Medjai started heading down into the crevice. O'Connell yelled at them, trying to convince himself.

"I told you, I already got him!

Ardeth stopped and looked back, deadly serious.

"Know this, the creature will be coming for you, he's the bringer of death. He must consummate the curse. And until he does, he will never eat, he will never sleep... and he will never stop."

Ardeth turned to Madylinn and kissed her that suddenly, that she was dumbstruck and staring at him wide-eyed.

"Be safe", he whispered and jumped down into the crevice,

O'Connell and Jonathan boosted Evelyn and Madylinn up onto two camel. Daniels and Henderson threw Burns up onto a horse. The Egyptologist, still clutching The Book Of The Dead, gets up on yet another horse. They all headed off into the dark, windblown desert. A skeletal hand suddenly punched up out of the sand, accompanied by a horrific, primordial shriek.

A British flag flew over British soldiers manning the front gate. Tired and disheveled the little group sauntered up on their dusty camels. The Soldiers checked their papers, then let them enter.

Two steamer trunks were slammed to the floor and thrown open. O'Connell chucked a load of dresses into each of the trunks.

"I thought you said that you didn't believe in that fairy tales and hokum stuff!?"

"Well I didn't say a thing", Madylinn shot.

O'Connell headed for the closet. Madylinn and her cousin unpacked their dresses.

"Having an encounter with a four thousand year old walking-talking corpse does tend to convert one."

"Three thousand", Madylinn corrected.

"Shut up", Evelyn hissed, too quite for O'Connell to hear.

"Forget it! We're out the door, down the hall and we're gone."

"Oh no, we are not."

O'Connell threw a handful of her underthings into the trunk.

"Oh yes we are."

O'Connell continued to pack Madylinn's and Evelyn's clothes as the both women continued to unpack them.

"Oh no, we are not. We woke him up, and we are going to stop him."

"We?! What we?! We didn't read that book. I told you not to play around with that thing. Didn't I tell you?"

"Alright! Yes then me, me, me, me, I, I, I read the

book, I woke him up and I intend to stop him."

O'Connell angrily stretched a bra between his hands. Madylinn blushed and snapped it out of his hands.

"That's mine!"

"Yeah? How? You heard Madylinn's boyfriend."

"HEY!" Madylinn exclaimed.

"No mortal weapons can kill this guy."

"Then we are just going to have to find some immortal ones."

"There goes that 'we' again. Not me, I am outta here!"

O'Connell stuffed a pile of Evelyn's shoes into her trunk. Evelyn kicked the lid shut, slamming it on his fingers. He yelped and angrily stormed around the room sucking his fingers as Evelyn followed him. Madylinn just watched the both as her cousin tried to convince him to stay.

"Will you listen to me? We have to do... According to that Book, once this creature has been reborn... his curse is going to spread and as he grows in strength, so will his curse grow, infecting the people until the whole of the earth is destroyed."

"Yeah? So? Is that my problem?"

"It's everybody's problem!" Evelyn shot incredulously.

"Look ladies, I appreciate you saving my life and all, but when I signed on... I agreed to take you out there

and to bring you back and I have done that, now we're even. End of job. End of story, the contract is terminated."

"That's all I am to you? A contract?"

"You can either tag along with me... or you can stay here... and play around with Mister Maggot, trying to save the world. What's it gonna be?"

"I'm staying."

"FINE!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Madylinn watched them exchanging a 'Fine' battle before O'Connell stormed out and slammed the door. Then the door opened again and O'Connell's hand reached back in and threw a handful of frilly panties to the floor. He went out again, slamming the door.


	10. 8

O'Connell angrily strode through the compound. He saw Beni coming up the path with a man dressed in hooded robes, his face covered by an ornate death mask. It was Imhotep disguised.

"Beni ya little stinkweed, where did you slink off to?"

"You left me! You left me in the desert to rot."

"Oh yeah,... sorry bout that. So who's this guy?" he gestured to Imothep.

"This is Prince Imhotep, High Priest of Osiris."

"Oh, hey, how ya doin'?

O'Connell stuck out his hand, Imhotep instantly recoiled. O'Connell gave him the once-over. Beni quickly covered.

"The Prince does not like to be touched by other humans. A Silly eastern superstition, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, well, we all got our little problems today don't we?"

"He has come to help Mister Burns. Somehow I feel responsible."

"Don't gimme that, you never had any scruples."

"Do you know where I can steal some?"

O'Connell fake-punched him, Beni flinched. O'Connell gave Imothep a look as he strode off.

"See ya around, Padre."

Imothep's grotesque new eyes glared out from behind the mask.

In a proverbial den-of-iniquity were lots of deals going down. An older guy with a walrus mustache was drunk and talking to some tough customers. He was wearing British WWI fighter pilot gear.

"I'm the last of the Royal Corps still stationed out here, you know?... Oh some bloody idiot spilled his drink. All the other laddies died in the sky and were buried in the sand."

The tough customers shove him away. Winston staggered over to O'Connell and Jonathan at the bar.

"Ever since the end of the Great War... there hasn't been a single challenge... worthy of a man like me."

"Yeah? We all got our little problems today, Winston."

"I just wish I could have chucked it with the other laddies... and gone down in a flame and glory... instead of sitting around here... rotting of boredom and booze!"

He took the drink from Jonathan and and drank it.

"Cheers. ... Well, back to the airfield."

O'Connell turned to Jonathan.

"Tell me, has your sister always been..."

"Oh yes, always."

"And your cousin. Was their relationship always like this? With dispute?"

"Actually no. I don't understand either why that is now", Jonathan mumbled, "but I can tell you, if you're on Maddy's good side, she will be a literal sunshine."

Henderson and Daniels sidled up to the bar next to them.

"We're all packed up, but the damn boat doesn't leave till tomorrow morning."

"Tail set firmly between your legs, I see", Jonathan mocked."

"You can talk. You don't have some sacred walking corpse after ya."

There were a few moments of silence before O'Connell turned to Daniels.

"So, uh, how's your friend?"

Daniels breathed in deeply before answering.

"He had his eyes and his tongue ripped out. How would you be?"

"I'm so pleased... to meet you."

Burns reached his hand out but Beni stopped him and told him the same he said to O'Connell earlier ago.

"Prince Imothep does not like to be touched. A silly Eastern superstition, I'm afraid."

"Please forgive me. Oh-"

Burns knocked over a cup on the table in front of him, causing the content to spill over the table's edge and to splash to the ground.

"Whoops. Mister Burns... Prince Imhotep thanks you for your hospitality. And for your eyes... and for your tongue."

The expression on Burns' face starts to change, very puzzled.

"Wha-"

"But I am afraid more is needed, the Prince says he must finish the job and consummate the curse which you and your friends... have brought down upon yourselves."

A look of pure fear registered on Burns, face. Beni quickly backed away and ran out of the room. Imhotep picked up the sacred canopic jar, then removes the death mask, revealing his corpse-skull.

"Good luck boys."

Three shot glasses clink together. O'Connell, Jonathan and Henderson slug 'em down, all three of them instantly spit out the liquid. Half the bar spit out their drinks as well.

"Sweet Jesus! That tasted just like,... like..."

"Blood."

They all looked at each other, even more nervous.

"And the rivers and waters of Egypt ran red... and were as blood."

A look passed over O'Connell's face, a realization.

"He's here."

He suddenly jumps away from the bar and runs for the door.

"Who's here!?"

"The guy! The Priest! THE MUMMY!"

Lightning flashed as O'Connell raced across the compound, knocking several Soldiers out of his way, panic stricken.

"Evelyn!! Madylinn!!!"

Madylinn and Evelyn calmly stepped into a courtyard, Evelyn carrying a handful of books. A blast of thunder and lightning scared her. She was about to drop half the books if Madylinn hadn't caught them. Then a hand grabbed her. She jumped and dropped the books. It was O'Connell, breathing hard.

"Oh, so you're still here."

"We've got problems."

And that was when a barrage of hail and fire slammed into the courtyard. The three jumped back. A water fountain bursted into steam. A wooden trellis caught fire. The three ran under the eaves as soldiers, servants and camels ran in every direction, trying to avoid the maelstrom.

"He's here! I saw him! That thing is here!"

"The creature!? Are you sure!?" Madylinn asked.

O'Connell gave her an incredulous look and gestured at the hail and fire.

"Pretty sure!"

The hail and fire came to a stop. Everything went dead quiet. The three froze and then a blood curdling scream is heard coming from the living quarters directly above them. They raced up the stairs.

 **Madylinn's POV**

We raced into the room, past the servant who was running out screaming. We skidded to a stop as we spotted Burns, or what was left of him, sitting dead in the armchair, his body was shriveled to half it's size, drained of all organs and liquids. O'Connell and especially the me and Evelyn were shocked. I was that shocked that I whimpered. Then we heard a loud moan and I noticed the mummy standing on the far side of the room. O'Connell drew his gun. The mummy was regenerating; A thick skin formed over a powerful new musculature, his tendons rippled, his bones bulged and reformed. His mouth opened to an inhuman size as he moaned and cried out, in severe pain. And then it was over. And he looked like an incredibly muscular, corpse-like vision from hell.

"We are in very serious trouble", O'Connell said.

The mummy started to move towards us, staring at Evelyn and me.

"Back off, creep", O'Connell hissed.

But he kept coming. O'Connell opened fire, blasting him, bullets ripped through his body, he didn't seem to mind. Jonathan, Henderson and Daniels ran into the room. They were all stunned at the sight of the walking corpse. O'Connell stepped forward, threw a right hook and punched the mummy in the face, but his fist went through the mummy's skull and got stuck deep inside his head. O'Connell stared at it, shocked, then quickly yanked his fist back out. The area of the mummy's face that came into contact with O'Connell's fist quickly degenerated and decayed, right down to the bone, as if O'Connell's hand instantly infected it. It looked so disgusting that I wanted to throw up. The corpse angrily turned, grabbed O'Connell, and with no effort, threw him across the room and into Jonathan and the others knocking them down. The mummy looked at his hand, the one that just grabbed O'Connell, it started to shrivel and decay. He quickly turned to Evelyn and lastly to me. Evelyn jumped to the side quickly, to the others. I backed away into a wall, terrorized. The corpse stepped up to me.

 _"You are my love and betrothed, I shall make you immortal."_

He leaned in, about to kiss me with his decayed face. I was about to faint and I did fell to floor, unfortunately in his rotten arms. All I could hear was a cat jumping onto a piano, hissing. The mummy was shrieking. The balcony doors blowed open. He spun into a blast of wind and sand and swirled out the doors, leaving me on the floor. The others were standing transfixed. Henderson kneeled next to Burns shriveled body, horrified.

"The curse. The curse."

I then drifted off when O'Connell came over and scooped my limb body up.

 **No ones POV**

"Is she okay?" Daniels asked.

"I think so. It must be a shock. Imagine a rotten corpse wanting to kiss you."

"Eeew", Daniels grimaced.

O'Connell with Madylinn in his arms, Jonathan, Henderson and Daniels followed Evelyn across the Ramesseum.

"There's only one person I know who can possibly give us any answers", she said.

They rounded a corner and come upon the Curator, who was talking with Ardeth Bay. Everybody stopped.

"YOU!"

The American's quickly drew their guns. Ardeth scowled. The Curator nodded his head.

"Miss Carnahan. Gentlemen."

"What is he doing here? Is he worried about his little girlfriend?"

"Evy!!" Jonathan hissed.

"Do you really want to know? Or would you prefer to just shoot us?"

Everybody tensed, guns up. Then O'Connell broke the silence.

"I just saw my fist vanish into some guy's head. So after what I just saw... I'm willing, to go on a little faith, here."

"You will not believe it", the Curator meant.

"Try me", O'Connell retorted.

Ardeth turned his head to look at the girl in O'Connell's arms.

"What's wrong with her?"

He gestured to her.

"We don't know why exactly she fainted but maybe she can tell you when she wakes up. Here, take her. You guys seem to have a strong connection."

O'Connell stepped to Ardeth and reached his arms out, laying the girl gently into the Medjai's arms. She stirred a bit and snuggled closer.

"So let's talk."

Everyone was assembled around the tomb display of Seti the First. The Curator sat on Seti's throne. Ardeth was sitting next to him, with a curled up Madylinn on his lap, gently stroking her long hair.

"We are part of an ancient secret society, the cult-of-the-Mumia, or Medjai. And we have a sacred mission, passed down through thirty-nine generations. For over three thousand years we have

guarded the City of the Dead. we are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imothep... from being reborn into this world."

"And because of you, we have failed", Ardeth said, causing Madylinn to stir and wake up, but no one noticed as she opened her eyes.

"And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people!?" Evelyn asked appalled.

"To stop this creature? Let me think..."

"Yes!" Both Ardeth and the Curator said in unison.

"Okay, let's cut to the chase. Why doesn't he like cats and is afraid of them?"

"According to the ancients, cat's are the guardians at the gates of the underworld. Imhotep will fear them

until he is fully regenerated, and then he will fear nothing."

Daniels was totally wigged-out, he looks at O'Connell.

"Right! And ya know how he gets fully regenerated?!"

"By killing everybody who opened that chest."

"And sucking us dry! That's how!"

"Yes, the creature must first try and regenerate, and then he will attempt to resurrect the one he has loved for more than four thousand years. It's because of this love that he was cursed. Perhaps he will once try to raise her from the dead.

"Anck-su-namun."

The Curator and Ardeth looked at Evelyn, thunderstruck.

"In the necropolis, when I saw him, alive,... walking, he called me Anck-su-namun. And then in Mister Burns' quarters he tried to kiss Madylinn."

Ardeth looked down to the girl in his lap, he found her already looking up at him.

"Did he really do that?"

"Not only that", she mumbled, "he gave me a name too. It was... A... Ama-N... Ama-Nenet, I think. Who is that?"

"Princess Ama-Nenet was the other daughter of Seti the First. And Imothep's bride to be."

The Curator turned to Evelyn.

"It was you who read from the book. It appears he has chosen you to be the human sacrifice needed to regenerate the body of Anck-su-namun."

Jonathan scratched his ear with the barrel of his pistol.

"This is not good. Not good at all."

"Bad luck, old mum."

"Oh on the contrary. It may just give us time we need... to kill the creature."

Ardeth has been staring up out a roof of windows.

"We will need all the help we can get. Tonight is the full moon. The moon of Osiris. It will begin tonight, his powers are growing."

Everyone followed Ardeth's eyes, through the windows they saw the sun, which was going into a full Eclipse.

"And he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens... and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt."

They started to leave the room. Ardeth stayed a bit behind with Madylinn.

"Are you alright?"

Madylinn nodded.

"He didn't get to kiss me, so... I'm good."

She leaned up till the tips of their noses touched. Madylinn closed her eyes as she inhaled his scent. It was alluring to her. He pecked her lips which devolved into a long and loving kiss. She snaked her arms around his neck while his hands had a tight grip on her tiny waist.

"Oh my gosh, please keep that down when we are near", O'Connell interrupted.

They couple parted reluctantly from each other.

"You should rest a little more."

"We will see each other later? Yes?"

Ardeth nodded while tugging a strand of her hair behind her ear lovingly. He gave her a quick peck on her rosy lips before walking after Curator.

O'Connel looks out a window at the British Soldiers manning the walls. Above and beyond them was the black sun.

Evelyn and Jonathan were pacing the foyer

"We must stop him from regenerating."

Madylinn turned to Daniels and Henderson.

"Who opened that chest?" she asked.

"Well, there was me and Daniels here... and then poor Burns of course. Oh yeah... and that Egyptologist fellow."

O'Connell turned from the window.

"What about my buddy, Beni?"

"Naw, he scrammed outta there, before we opened that thing."

"Yeah, he was the smart one."

"Well that sounds like Beni."

"We must find the Egyptologist and bring him back here to the safety of the fort... before the creature can

get to him", Evelyn shot.

O'Connell looked at Evelyn, her brother, their cousin, Daniels and Henderson.

"Okay, right... Madylinn and Evelyn, you wait here, you three come with me.

Four of them pounced on him at once:

"The hell with that! I'm not goin' nowhere! We're safe here", Henderson complained.

"Yeah, I'm not leavin, this fort for nothing", Daniels agreed.

"Who put you in charge? You can't just leave me behind like some old carpetbag. I'm the one responsible for this mess and I intend to be the one to clean it up."

 **Madylinn's POV**

"He is right we should stay here where it's safer. And besides, you should have thought about that earlier", I said calmly.

Evelyn shot me a glare.

"Shut up. Why don't you go and cry and wail yourself out on your boyfriend, huh?"

'She didn't say that did she?'

"Seriously Evelyn, what is your problem?"

"My problem? You want to know what my problem is? Well I have none. Oh wait... I do!... It's you, you brat!"

That was enough for me. I ran. Away. To my room. I ran in, locked the door and threw myself onto my bed. I asked myself over and over why she did that. And that two days before my birthday.

Great.

Really.

Absolutely terrifically fantastically great.

I hate my life.

It's cursed.

 **No ones POV**

O'Connell just shook his head and sighed. Totally put-upon. Then he took Evelyn, threw her over his shoulder, shoved her into the bedroom, slammed the door and locked it with a skeleton key. From inside her room they could hear Evelyn pounding on the door and yelling. O'Connell threw the skeleton key to Daniels.

"Keep an eye on her. This door doesn't open. She doesn't come out and no one goes in, right?"

"Right."

He looked to Henderson.

"Right?"

"Right."

"Lets go Jonathan."

Jonathan swallowed hard and pointed to himself.

"Me? Oh, I thought I could just stay at the fort and, uh, reconnoiter-"

"Now!"

Jonathan jumped up.

"Yeah, right. We're just gonna rescue the Egyptologist."

"Oh and please look after Madylinn some time, okay?"

The Egyptologist stumbled through the dark alleys, looking haunted. He clutched the Book of the Dead in one hand and his sacred canopic jar in the other. Imhotep was stalking him. A street vendor turned and saw Imhotep's horribly decayed face. He reacted and scurried away. Imhotep lifted his robe, covered his face, and moved in on the Egyptologist, who was heading into the bazaar.

Beni was ransacking the joint, pulling out drawers and files and throwing them on the floor. He found a silver pocket watch, shook it, then threw it into his pocket, then he started tipping over bookcases and clearing shelves.

"Well, well, well."

Beni spun around. O'Connell and Jonathan stood in the door.

"Let me guess. Spring cleaning?"

Beni turned and ran for an open window. O'Connell grabbed a chair and flung it into his path. Beni tripped and crashed into a wall.

"Nice shot."

"Oh Beni. Did you fall down? Let me help you up."

O'Connell strode over, grabbed him and lifted him up the wall. Beni's feet dangled off the floor.

"You came back from the desert with a new friend, didn't you, Beni?"

"What friend? You're my only friend."

O'Connell quickly slid his knife up under Beni's chin.

"Then you got no excuse for living. What the hell are you doing? Being buddies with this creep, Beni? What's in it for you?"

"It is better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path. As long as I serve him, I am immune."

"Immune from what?"

"Piszkas allat."

"What did you say?"

"I don't wanna tell you. You'll just hurt me some more."

"What are you looking for? And try not to lie to me. If you do, I'll slit your throat."

O'Connell shoved the knife deeper into Beni's skin.

"The book! The black book they found at Hamunaptra! Imhotep wants it back. He said to me it would be worth it's weight in gold."

"What does he want the book for?"

"I don't know. Something about bringing his dead girlfriend back to life. He needs the book... but that's all. He just wants the book, I swear."

Beni looked at Jonathan.

"And your sister and the other girl."

O'Connell looked at Jonathan. Beni seized the moment and kneed O'Connell in the balls. O'Connell doubled over and collapsed. Beni leapt out the window and Jonathan cringed.

"That looked rather painful."

"Ya know, ever since I met you, my luck has been for crap", O'Connell said wincing.

"Yes, I know, I do that to people."

That's when they heard a blood curdling scream coming from down in the bazaar. O'Connell and Jonathan scrambled to the window and looked out.

Down in the bazaar, people were screaming and quickly backing away from the shriveled corpse of the Egyptologist. A partially decayed hand reached down and took the sacred canopic jar out of the Egyptologist's shriveled hand. It was Imothep, having regenerated even further. He looked up and

caught eyes with O'Connell. Imhotep grinned, then unhinged; his jaw, his mouth stretched to an inhuman size, and then a huge swarm of flies came out of his mouth and raced straight up at O'Connell and Jonathan. They both slammed the shutters. The flies slammed into the closed window and immediately spread throughout the bazaar. Sending people screaming and running.

O'Connell and Jonathan looked at each other, panicked.

"Damn-it! That's two down and only two to go."

"And then he'll be coming after the girls."

They turned and raced out of the office.

Daniels stared out a window, watching the British Guards at the front gate. More Soldiers marched the encircling parapet.

"Ten o'clock! Guards in place!"

"Reporting, all is clear, Sir!"

The lights and music from the Casbah came up from below.

Daniels turned turns from the window. Henderson sat in a chair next to Evelyn's door, chain smoking. Both looked wired with fear.

"To the hell with this. I'm going downstairs to get me a drink. You want something?"

"Yeah. Yeah, get me a glass of bourbon."

"All right."

"A-and a shot of bourbon."

"Yeah, okay, okay."

"And a bourbon chaser."

"I'll get you damn bourbon!"

Daniels headed out, forgetting to close the door.

"Don't worry about the door."

Henderson stood and closed the door himself. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulls out his sacred canopic jar and fondled it. A breeze suddenly came in through the open window causing the curtains to flutter. Henderson got up and went over to shut it. He looked out the window. He suddenly was lifted into the air by a mass of swirling sand. His body twisted and turned and slowly shriveled as the life was sucked out of him. Then he collapsed to the floor. On the wall above him, the shadow of the swirling sand condensed, forming a shadow of a

human body. The shadow convulsed as the body regenerated. Imothep, looking almost normal now, his face no longer decayed, stepped over Hendersons shriveled body and up to Evelyn's door and rattled the knob. The door was locked.

 **Imothep's POV**

I turned to sand and streamed in through the keyhole, pouring onto the floor, forming a large mound. When I was on the other side of the door, I turned to my human self again. I looked around the room. I saw the woman I wanted to sacrifice for Anck-su-namun, but the reincarnated body of princess Ama-Nenet was nowhere to be found.

'Maybe she's in another room. I'm going to search for her later.'


	11. 9

O'Connell and Jonathan raced into the foyer and skidded to a stop as they saw Henderson's shriveled body on the floor. O'Connell ran up to Evelyn's door and rattled the knob, which was still locked. He bend down and looked in through the keyhole.

 **Imothep's POV**

I leaned down towards the woman about to kiss her as she slept. I ignored that someone started crash and bang the door. I kissed her. My lips and mouth instantly started to degenerate and decay. Right down to the bone. The door bursted open and the woman woke up. She saw me kissing her. She screamed and shoved me away. I grimaced in sadness.

"Get your ugly face and your hands off of my girl, pal", a man said

My sadness turned to anger as I spun around and faced him, licking my fetid lips.

"Nice lips."

I started to move for him.

"I figured you might be here, so look what I got. I brought a friend."

He throws the white cat at me. I instinctively caught it. I shrieked as the cat hissed at me, I dropped the cat and stumbled back towards the window, which blew open. I spun like a dervish and bursted into a whirlwind of sand. Everybody covered their eyes. I exploded out the window and vanished over the compound. When I was out of sight, I let the wind carry me to another open window. I flew in and turned back to my human body. My eyes went over to the bed where I found the beauty I was searching for. She was sleeping deeply and silently, as I walked over and sat down on the bed's edge next to her. The blanket covered her only to her waist, I pulled it away. She was wearing a short satin and thin nightgown. It was not only thin but a bit tight too and that complimented her thin and a bit curvy figure. The nightgown was pink and showed of her breasts. Her body was so alluring, but it wasn't complete, the soul of her past life was missing. I let my hand wander over her body, from her jawline, down her neck and shoulder over her breast where I let my hand rest a few centimeters under it. I leaned down and kissed her, like I did with the other woman but this time longer and more passionate.

 **No ones POV**

Jonathan had his gun aimed at the window, his hand shaking badly. O'Connell hugged Evelyn as she wiped her mouth in disgust. Daniels walked in, looked at Henderson's shriveled body on the floor... and dropped the martini glasses.

"Hey... where's the other woman?"

Everyone's faces, even Evelyn's, changed to horrified and panicked.

"Oh shit", O'Connell mumbled under his breath.

"Take the cat."

They raced out of Evelyn's fort and raced to Madylinn's, the cat in Jonathan's arms. Lucky for them, her doors were not locked. But as they bursted in, they found Imothep with his lips and hands on Madylinn. The cat hissed and that got Imothep's attention.

"First my sister and now my cousin. Really? Not funny."

The cat hissed again and that made Imothep shriek and turning to sand and vanishing again. O'Connell grabbed Madylinn and lead them all to Jonathan's car.

Jonathan raced his big convertible through the streets, honking constantly. Evelyn sat between him and O'Connell who had Madylinn on his lap, looking scared and nervous, then she gave O'Connell a look.

"You called me your girl?"

"What?... Oh yeah, that was just um, you know, figure a speech."

"I think you were jealous"

"Jealous? You kiddin' me? Did you see that guy's face?"

Daniels leaned forward from the back seat, filled with fear.

"Shut-up! JUST SHUT-UP! We gotta do something! We gotta do somethin, NOW! Before it's too late!"

Madylinn stirred on O'Connell's lap and woke up.

"Hey what's going on? And why... am I sitting here in a car on your lap with just a thin and short nightgown, while my idiot of car driving cousin is racing like he is escaping his worst nightmare?"

"Well that creep of a mummy was first at Evelyn's fort and than at your fort and... kind of, well... kissed you both."

"What? Oh my gosh please tell me that's not true! Please tell me it's a dream!"

"Unfortunately not. But he... well, he had his hands also all over, uhm your body."

"WHAT????!!!!"

Madylinn wiped her mouth furiously.

"Water. I need water!"

They raced into the driveway of the museum of Antiquities. When they stopped, Madylinn jumped out and raced for the bathroom. She spit into the sink and 'cleaned' her mouth. Someone knocked at the door.

"Madylinn, is everything okay? Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Ardeth entered and pulled Madylinn to his chest.

"What's wrong."

"This creepy rotten I-wanna-take-over-the-world-mummy decided to kiss and touch me in my sleep."

Ardeth turned her, grabbed her waist, sat her on the sink and stood between her legs, wiping her tears away.

"Then I'm going to claim you."

"How?"

He smirked. She blushed and looked down on her hands. A hand lifted her chin up and pulled her in for a long and loving kiss, full of passion. Madylinn wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked them behind his back and her arms around his neck. One of Ardeth's hands made it's way under her short nightgown, while the other was at the back of her neck, stroking. A tingling sensation made its way in her stomach. He left a trail of wet kisses over her jawline to her neck where he gently bit the soft skin. A moan was elicited from her throat. Madylinn threw her head back. A masculine hand pulled her slip down to her ankles. And a feminine one pulled his pants down, his manhood now laying free. Ardeth grabbed her waist with one hand and the other spread her legs more which still were wrapped around his waist. Their upper halves were still covered in clothes while their lower body was exposed. Ardeth put his index finger on the nub while his thumb was rubbing the area below. Madylinn pulled him into kiss full of passion, their lips moving in sync and his fingers gently stroking and then inserted two fingers before hooking them suddenly. The black haired beauty, throwing her head back, gasped, leaning the back against the cold wall. He kissed her again tracing her bottom lip with his tongue. Madylinn parted her lips and let him explore her mouth. Ardeth pulled his two fingers out and embraced his manhood with her saliva, using it as lube. He placed himself at her core and made eye contact only to find a scared look in her eyes.

"What is wrong?" he asked concerned and scared that she would be backing away.

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Loosing my virginity."

"You're a virgin? Maddy, look at me. You don't have to worry, I will be gentle with you and it will be unforgettable, I promise you."

Ardeth slowly pulled her hips to him and entered, till he reached the tiny and thin barrier. He took one of Madylinn's hands and pressed it, before quickly pushing through the barrier, ripping it apart. She cried out in pain and laid her head on his shoulder. He stroke over her back, trying to calm her down. She laid her hands on his shoulders. He began to move inside of her, after he nipped her ear and whispered:

"Enjoy this, my beautiful princess."

He slowly to moved and set a pace. After a few minutes their breathing hitched. Madylinn tried to hold back a moan but she failed.

"Don't hold it back Madylinn."

Ardeth kept thrusting as both their lust and need grew and a hot feeling went through their abdomens. He slowly lost his pace as the climax approached. Madylinn suddenly arched her back , when he thrusted into her roughly. She tightened around his manhood and he embraced her warm and half covered body as he kept grinding into her until his manhood twitched and released his seed. They were literally drowning in pleasure as Ardeth kept rocking. They were both breathless, as the explosion-like feelings still shot through their body.

A full moon shone down on the bazaar, still bustling with activity. Suddenly, a breeze kicked-in; Green mist began to swirl down the street and through the stalls. The people began to choke and cough and retch, as if being hit by a severe sickness.

Imothep strolled through the sickened mob, his face half rotted off, his deformed mouth grinning happily. Beni was at his side, looking very nervous. Then one-by-one, the people silently began to follow Imothep, their skin covered in disgustingly boils and sores.

O'Connell, Jonathan, Daniels, the Curator and the couple, which had joined them after their 'heated session', followed Evelyn as she strode through the museum.

"Last month I came across an inscription that mentioned the Book of the Dead", Evelyn said.

"That book we found at Hamunaptra?" Daniels asked.

"Yes. I dismissed it, because according to legend, the black book is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now it was a notion I was unwilling to believe."

"Believe it, sister. That's what brought our buddy back to life."

"And now he's going to use it to bring his girlfriend back."

"And if he succeeds, the two of them together will bring about the apocalypse."

The Curator joined Evelyn at her side as she headed up the stairs, everyone else in hot pursuit.

"The plagues we have seen so far, are merely Imhotep flexing his muscles. Only at the moment of Anck-su-namun's resurrection will he be truly invincible."

They reached the display cases. Evelyn quickly opened them.

"I'm thinking that if the black Book of the Dead can bring dead people back to life..."

"... then perhaps, the golden Book of the Living can kill him and return him to the underworld", Madylinn completed.

"Exactly, that's the myth."

"So your sayin', if we find the book made outta gold..."

"... and read the sacred incantations contained inside it."

"You think it'll send this guy back to hell?"

"That's what I said..."

Loud chanting was heard, coming from outside. They all rushed over to the upper windows and looked down: A large, crazed mob covered in boils and sores comes chanting up the driveway: 'Imothep! Imothep!'

"Last but not least... my favorite plague... boils and sores."

"Eeeew, Jonathan."

They have become his slaves. So it has begun. The beginning of the end."

"Not quite yet it hasn't. Come on."

Evelyn dashed back to the display cases. Everyone followed.

The crazed mob crashed into the huge front doors, which were locked. They pounded furiously, throwing themselves at it while chanting constantly. Imhotep solemnly came up the driveway.

The banging on the doors could be heard as Evelyn, Madylinn and the Curator quickly sorted through broken pieces of stone tablets. The others watched. Evelyn pulled out a large piece.

"Got it!" Madylinn yelled suddenly.

"Got what?"

The banging got louder. Multiple windows shattered. Madylinn talked while quickly translating the tablet:

"According to Bembridge scholars, the golden Book of Amun-Ra... is located inside the statue of Anubis."

"That's were we found the black book."

"Looks like they old boysat Bembridge were mistaken."

"They mixed the books up. Mixed up where they were buried. So if the black was inside the statue of Anubis... then the golden book must be inside..."

"Come one girls. Faster."

"Patience is a virtue", Evelyn sang.

"Not right now, it isn't."

"Uh, I think I'll go and get the car started", Jonathan said and took off.

Madylinn found the translation in the tablet and smiled.

"I've got it", she yelled, "The golden book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus!"

"Which would be located not far to the east of the Anubis statue."

"Don't tell me we gotta go back out there?"

"If we want to kill the creature, yes."

Two boil and sore-covered men charge out of a doorway, screaming. O'Connell and Ardeth grabbed them and chucked them over the railing. The men flew through the air and crashed into the lower display cases. The front doors suddenly bursted open, the crazed mob poured into the museum. The little group haul ass across the balcony and down the staircase.

Jonathan snuck out of some bushes and quickly headed for his convertible. Suddenly, a splinter group of the diseased mob came around the side of the museum. Jonathan instantly bugged his eyes out, started drooling, and began chanting.

"Imothep! Imothep!"

The crazed group ran past him and headed into the front doors of the museum. Jonathan leapt into the convertible, fired it up and 180's it back over to the bushes. O'Connell, Evelyn, Daniels, Ardeth, who was clutching Madylinn's, and the Curator jumped inside the car. Beni stepped out of the museum and saw them.

"Imothep! IMHOTEP!" Beni yelled.

Imothep looked out of the museum from the shattered upper windows just as the convertible peeled out. O'Connell pointed a finger at Beni as they raced past him.

"You're gonna get yours, Beni! You hear me? You're gonna get yours!"

"Oh, like I've never heard that before!"

Imothep unhinged his jaw, his mouth stretched to an inhuman size, he let out one of his horrific, primordial shrieks. His disease-ridden disciples immediately began pouring out of the front doors of the museum and chasing after the car.

The convertible hauls ass down the narrow bazaar street.

"Hang on!"

Crazies started jumping out of stalls and leaping onto the car. O'Connell and the others fought them off, throwing them overboard. More people jumped on. Ardeth pulled Madylinn on his lap, clutching her with a death grip when Jonathan swerved the car and crashed through some stalls, knocking them off, but not before they managed to open the back door and yanked Daniels out.

"O'Connell! O'Connell!"

He tumbled across the pavement, got up shooting, backed into a corner, firing his pistol into the hideous rabble, killing several, keeping them at bay. His gun went empty. But the mob stayed back, looking at him like rabid vultures. Daniels eyed them, filled with fear. The mob parted like the red sea as Imhotep walked through them and up to Daniels. He whimpered in fear, tears poured down

his cheeks. Then he got an idea, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his jewel encrusted sacred canopic jar. He held it out for Imhotep. Imhotep took it and grinned. Through his tears, Daniels grinned back, hopeful that he'll be spared. But then in the middle of the crazed, diseased mob, Daniels gave out a blood curdling scream.

The convertible slowly motored down the narrow alleys. All of them were staring out the front windshield, freaked-out. Then suddenly one of the hideous ghouls crashed through the windshield. Everybody screamed. Jonathan hit the gas, lost control and the car slammed into a wall. O'Connell grabbed Evelyn and Ardeth grabbed Madylinn.

"Go! Go!"

They all leapt out of the car. But the angry, festering mob quickly surrounded them. O'Connell quickly reached into his gunny-sack, pulled out a stick of dynamite, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a match. He looked around for a way to light it, then reached over and stroke it across Ardeth's stubbly face. Ardeth yelped. O'Connell held the lit match near the fuse. The crazed and chanting mob gave O'Connell a wide berth, staring at him and the others with insane, bloodshot eyes. And then Imhotep stepped through, having fully regenerated, he now looked as young and handsome and muscular as he did the day he was buried alive. Evelyn stared at him.

"It's the creature. He's fully regenerated."

"He's gorgeous", Evelyn mumbled.

O'Connell and Madylinn gave her a look, the match burning O'Connell's fingers. He yelped and threw it down, grabbed another match and stroke it across Ardeth's face again. He yelped and gave O'Connell a look to kill. The Curator shook his head.

"He has consummated the curse, now all he need do is raise Anck-su-namun from the dead, then it will be the end of us, and the beginning for them", the Curator said.

Imothep moved forward, heading right for them. O'Connell lighted the fuse. Imhotep stepped up to O'Connell and stopped, watching the fuse burn down. The lit fuse was about to vanish inside the stick of dynamite, blowing it up, when Evelyn leaned forward and blew it out.

"I don't know about you, but I wanna live a little longer."

O'Connell exhaled, but kept his eyes on Imothep, who extended his hands to Evelyn and Madylinn.

 _"Keetah mi pharos... aja nilo, isirian."_

Beni stepped through the swarming mass, translating.

"Come with me, my princesses. It is time to make you mine forever."

"For all eternity, you idiot", Madylinn hissed.

She was still in Ardeth's arms and shaking with fear.

 _"Koontash dai na... aja nilo."_

"Take my hands... and I will spare your friends."

The two women cursed under their breaths, hesitating, looking around at the huge, bloodthirsty crowd surrounding them, holding axes, picks and scimitars, waiting to pounce, then they looked at Imhotep, confident, powerful, invincible. Then Evelyn looked at O'Connell and Madylinn at Ardeth.

"Have you got any bright ideas?" Evelyn asked.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking", O'Connel said through angry, grit teeth.

"You better think of something fast, because if he turns me and Evy into mummies... you and Ardeth are the first ones we're coming after."

The two women looked back at Imhotep, then started to reach out to take his hands. Both O'Connell and Ardeth moved to stop them, but the Curator and Jonathan grabbed them both and held them tight.

"Don't do it."

"We have no choice."

Evelyn's trembling hand touched Imhotep's. His hand closed around hers, then he looked back to Madylinn who was looking between him and Ardeth. When nothing happened the next moment, Imothep went to reach out to grab Madylinn but she ran back to Ardeth and gave him a long kiss. She turned to Imothep who smiled when she came up to him and he wrapped an arm around her waist. Beni went to Jonathan and ripped the key/box out of Jonathan's upper jacket pocket.

"Hey that's mine."

The Curator held Ardeth back when Imhotep pulled Madylinn away. O'Connell couldn't take it anymore, he tried to break free of Jonathan's grip.

"Evelyn!"

The crowd parted for Imhotep and the two women. And then Imhotep stopped and looked back at O'Connell and Ardeth.

 _"Pared oos."_

Evelyn and Madylinn screamed.

"NOOO!!"

Beni smiled.

"Kill them."

"No! Let go of me! LET GO OF ME!"

Imothep pulled them away. O'Connell and Ardeth broke free of the grips and stumbled forward.

"Madylinn!"

But the rabid vultures were already moving in for the kill. O'Connell quickly bend down, pulled open a cistern/manhole cover and shoved Jonathan down inside it, then Ardeth and jumped in after him.

"Go! Find a way! Kill the creature!" the Curator yelled.

The three men sloshed their way down the watery catacomb, crazies pouring in behind them. Up ahead, a light suddenly shone in from another cistern hole, and then more of the infected crowd dropped down, screeching like rats. O'Connell jagged right, pushing Jonathan and Ardeth ahead of him. He stroke a match off the wall, lighted the nubby fuse on a stick of dynamite, threw it and ran like hell. The fire blast incinerated a bunch of crazies.

The explosion blew a cistern cover fifty feet into the air, followed by a mass of flammage.

A sewer grate was kicked out of a wall. O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth climbed out of the hole and into an alley.

"We gotta get both of them back."

"I'm with you, old man. No one touches my sister and cousin like that and gets away with it."

O'Connell looked at Ardeth.

"You know where he's taking them?"

"Yes. To Hamunaptra. To perform the ritual."

Jonathan looked worried.

"And what ritual would that be?"

"The ritual to bring the body of Anck-su-namun back to life."

"And how does he do that?"

"By reading the Book Of The Dead."

"Oh yes, of course."

"And then killing your sister."

"Excuse me?"

Ardeth looked back at O'Connell.

"Imothep is now able to cross the desert with great haste."

Jonathan tapped him in the shoulder.

"Begging your pardon, but I wasn't quite clear on that last part.

But he got ignored by Ardeth.

"If he arrives before us, it will be too late."

"Did you say 'kill' my sister?"

O'Connell smiled.

"I know how to beat him to it."

Jonathan's bashed-in convertible steamed it's way up to a set of semi-abandoned Quonset huts. A single WWI biplane with R.A.F. Insignias sat in the sand beside them. A sign reads:

His majesty's royal air corp

"Morning, Winston. Uh, a word?"

The three men stood before Winston Havlock.

"So what's your little problem got to do with his Majesty's Royal Air Corp?"

"Not a god-damned thing."

Winston looked intrigued.

"Is it dangerous?"

"You probably won't live through it."

This really interested him.

"By Jove, do you really think so?"

"Everybody else we've bumped into has died. Why not you?"

Winston nodded his head, he was hooked.

"So what's the, uh... what's the challenge then?"

"To rescue two damsels in distress, kill the bad guy and save the world."

A slow grin spread across Winston's face, then he gave them a snappy salute.

"Winston Havlock at your service, sir!"

Way off across the desert, a large sand-devil raced over the dunes. The sandy whirlwind came to a stop and started to dissipate. Madylinn, Evelyn and Beni were suddenly ejected out of it, they landed in a dune. The swirling sand condenses and formed into Imothep. He looked up into the sky, listening carefully. Evelyn shook the sand out of her hair and looked at Beni.

"What just happened?"

"All I remember is him turning into a blast of sand,... and then I remember nothing."

A groan was heard from next to them. They looked to Madylinn who laid on her side, motionless.

"Madylinn?"

Evelyn panicked and raced to her cousin's side and laid her head on her chest to listen for her heartbeat. When she heard it, she sighed relieved.

"Thank goodness you're alive."

Then they heard a plane in the sky and looked up.

The wind whipped at Winston in the cockpit. O'Connell sat in the gunner's compartment. Jonathan was strapped spread-eagle across the left wing, Ardeth was tied tight to the right. Both men were scared out of their wits and screaming in fear.

Imothep's jaw unhinged, his mouth opened to an inhuman size, he let fly with another one of his horrible shrieks and a massive wall of sand rose up out of the desert.

O'Connell watched the desert below him come alive and rise up towards the plane. Winston looked over the side and saw what was coming. He laughed, threw the throttle, and put the plane into a dive.

"Hang on, men!"

The sandstorm chased the diving, twisting biplane, getting closer and closer, about to engulf it. O'Connell looked back into the blinding sand and saw a giant face forming inside the sandstorm. It was Imhotep, grinning. O'Connell grabbed the Lewis machine-gun, cocked the bracket and fired, blasting away at Imhotep's giant face inside the sandstorm. Imhotep's face began to laugh, then his jaw unhinged, his mouth opened wide, and he engulfed the plane. Winston blindly fought for control, elated.

"We're going down!"

The biplane spun inside the blowing sand, the engines roaring, the wind howling, Jonathan and Ardeth screaming and Winston laughing.

"Here I come, laddies!"

O'Connell braced himself for impact,

Evelyn leapt to her feet and ran over to Imhotep.

"Stop it! You'll kill them!"

Imothep grabbed her, pulled her close, her beautiful eyes stared into his shockingly intense ones. Then he kissed her, hard. Evelyn's eyes widened, stunned and mesmerized, then she pushed herself away and fell back into the sand, Imhotep laughed.

The biplane smashed over a dune, rolled over and crashed upside-down into another dune. The sand swirled as O'Connell fell out of the gunner's compartment. The left wing was jammed into the dune, with Jonathan hanging upside down.

"Excuse me... Um, a little help would be useful... IF IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE!!"

O'Connell went to help Jonathan. Ardeth stumbled over to the gunner's compartment and teared the Lewis gun off it's mount. He threw the machine-gun over one shoulder, a cartridge belt over the other and staggered away. O'Connell and Jonathan both looked into the cockpit. Winston was dead, with a smile on his face. The plane suddenly started to move, the sand sank under their feet, they quickly high-tailed-it away.

O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth made it to some rocks and looked back. The biplane, with Winston inside, slid away over a dune. O'Connell gave it a salute. The plane vanished over the dune and into the swirling sand.

O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth came down a ravine in the volcano and looked out over the ruins of Hamunaptra.

"Okay, now what the hell does this Horus guy look like?"

"He's a big fellow with pointy ears and a face like a falcon."

"Got it."


	12. 10

Carrying torches, O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth made their way down a long, winding, narrow staircase, heading into the bowels of the necropolis, a passageway to hell.

Madylinn and Evelyn followed Imhotep into the underground cemetery. They stopped at the sight of all the big hairy rats scurrying through the mausoleums and over the gravestones. Beni shoved his rifle into Madylinn's back and pushed her forward, earning a yelp from her and a glare from Imtohep.

"Keep moving."

Evelyn gave him a look.

"You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself, always get their comeuppance", she said.

Beni suddenly looked worried.

"Oh yeah? Really? They do?"

"Oh, yes. Always."

Beni looked even more worried, he nervously started chewing on his lip. All four of them walked over the bridge crossing the disgusting detritus moat. Evelyn looked down at it, horrified.

O'Connell and Ardeth were busy digging out a collapsed doorway.

"I 'd take those bigger stones first. Take them from the top, otherwise the whole thing will cave in on us. Come on. Put your backs into it."

The other two turned and gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, well, you've got the idea. Chop-chop."

Both turned around and started digging again. That's when Jobathan noticed an amethyst scarab on the far wall. He walked over and tried to jiggle it free. It came loose in his hand. He looked at the scarab in his palm. It started to glow. And then something inside it started to wiggle.

"I say, gents! You should come and have a look at this."

The wiggling continued. A long, agonizing beat, and then the scarab broke out of it's cocoon and instantly burrowed into Jonathan's palm. He started to freak out and screamed. The other two turned around.

"What?"

"It's in my arm! My arm!"

O'Connell ran up and ripped the shirt off Jonathan's arm. The scarab was now burrowing up Jonathan's arm.

"Whoa!"

"Do something!"

"Hold him!" O'Connell yelled at Ardeth, who held Jonathan.

"Do something! Do something!"

O'Connell whipped out his butterfly-knife, snapped it open and grabbed Jonathan's arm. Jonathan's eyes widened in terror as the knife passed in front of his face.

"Not that! Not that!"

Jonathan screamed louder, obviously being cut open. O'Connell's hand flicked something away. The scarab hit the floor and immediately started scurrying back towards Jonathan, wanting to finish the job. O'Connell pulled out his gun and blew it away.

The gunshot echoed into the cemetery as Imhotep, Madylinn, Evelyn and Beni stepped-up to the strange altar, where three thousand years ago Imhotep tried to bring Anck-su-namun back to life.

Imothep scowled at the sound and angrily reached into a canopic jar. He pulled out the crusted remains of Anck-su-namun's heart, crushed it to dust in his hand and started reading from the Book of the Dead.

 _"Shatay Wapay Ku Ra Eck!"_

Then he blew the dust against a mausoleum wall. The wall started to come alive. The two women and Beni stared at the wall, the three of them wide-eyed. Two forms emerged from the mausoleum's wall, horrific-looking mummified corpses; Two of Imhotep's long dead Priests. They bowed to Imhotep, then turned and moved off down a passageway.

"Bembridge scholars never wrote about this."

O'Connell helped Ardeth mend Jonathan's wound.

"From now on, don't touch anything. Not a damn thing. Keep your hands off the furniture, got it?"

Jonathan swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.

Imothep prepared the altar while speaking in hebrew. Beni held his gun on her, translating:

"Prince Imhotep wants your heart."

Evelyn blushed, feeling complimented by the handsome prince.

"Tell him, I'm truly flattered... but that it's already taken."

"Evy, I don't think he meant it like that."

Imothep continued speaking while laying the four jewel encrusted canopic jars next to the shattered one.

"He wants your heart and your brain, your liver, your kidneys..."

Evelyn's eyes widened.

"... and how do you say? Those slimy things, in your stomach?

"Intestines."

"Yeah! Them."

Evelyn can't believe it, she furiously turns to Imhotep.

"You only want me for my organs?!"

Imothep looked at her and grins, then raised his hand, but Madylinn stepped in front of her cousin and Imothep backhanded her instead of Evelyn.

Madylinn went down for the count, Evelyn catches her. Imhotep stares st Evelyn, cold, malevolent, then he backhanded her too and turned and walked off into the mausoleums. Beni nervously glanced around, then quickly scurried away.

O'Connell squeezed through a small crevice in a wall and dropped to the floor of a dark chamber. He picked up his gunnysack and scanned the darkness. Something glittered. Jonathan and Ardeth crawled in behind him. O'Connell noticed a shaft of light, high above him, shooting through a small hole in the ceiling and stopping against a wall next to one of those mirror disks. O'Connell aimed his gun at it and fired. The bullet stroke the disk's pedestal, spinning

the mirror into the shaft of light. The shaft of light hit the disk and quickly bounced around the room from one disk to another until the whole chamber was lit up. It was an enormous treasure chamber, filled to overflowing. Everything sparkled and shone, the wealth of Egypt. The three men were speechless. Then the two mummified Priest-mummies walked in.

"Who the hell are these guys?"

"Priests. Imhotep's priests."

O'Connell pulled the elephant gun out of his gunny-sack.

"Alright then. I never killed a priest before."

"They are evil, cursed, they matter not."

"Well, okay then."

O'Connell fired the elephant gun. Smoke and flame shoot out, blasting one of the mummies, blowing it's upper torso clean off. O'Connell pumped the gun, the huge spent cartridge flipped through the air. He fired again, blasting the other mummy, blowing this one's torso clean off as well. The smoke cleared. The two sets of legs kept walking forward, unaffected by the loss of their upper torsos. O'Connell couldn't believe it.

"Oh come on, gimme a break here."

And then the disemboweled upper torsos started to move, turning over and crawling towards the men, who started to back away.

Imothep turned from the altar as he heard more gunshots echoing out of the passageways. He angrily reached into another of Anck-su-namun's canopic jars, pulled out her crusty liver and crushed it to dust, then quickly started reading a passage from the Book and blew the dust down a passageway.

 _"Kill them! Kill them all! And bring me the Book of the Living!"_

A dusty breeze blew into the chamber as O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth backed away from the mummy pieces. The floor where they were just standing suddenly started to move. Two more mummies slowly dug their way up out of the floor. More mummies started coming out of the walls and crawling out of the piles of gold. All the mummies headed for the three men. O'Connell lifted the elephant gun. Ardeth Ray stopped him.

"My turn."

Ardeth opened up with the Lewis gun, blasting the shit out of the mummies. They kept on coming, even more now. O'Connell opened fire with the elephant gun, pumping and firing as all three of the men back away and haul ass. The mummies and mummy pieces followed them into the passageway. Then Beni crept into the chamber. He stared in wonder at

all the treasure. Then he fell backwards into a pile of jewels and rolls about.

Evelyn woke up, lying chained to the top of the altar. She blinked, then turned her head, seeing her cousin chained to a wall with different clothing.

"Maddy?"

The unconscious girl didn't move. Evelyn turned her head to the other side and looked right into the rotted face of Anck-su-namun's corpse. Evelyn screamed which woke Madylinn up.

The elephant gun fired, blasting flame and smoke. O'Connell, Jonathan and Ardeth raced down a passageway, a dozen mummies striding after them.

"This whole place is comin, alive!"

The men raced around a corner. More mummies. They raced around another corner. More mummies. Onward they came. Methodical. Relentless. Boxing in the three. O'Connell and Ardeth were firing as they went. Ardeth went empty.

"I'm out", he said.

He threw the machine-gun down and they all raced into a small chamber. The lower half of the giant statue of Horus stood in the middle of the chamber.

"There he is!

They ran up to the base of the statue."

"Hello Horus old boy."

O'Connell looked back at the mummies coming down the passageway. He reached into his gunny-sack and pulled out a stick of dynamite. Ardeth Ray tapped him on the shoulder.

"Allow me."

O'Connell handed him the dynamite and a match, then turned to look at the statue. Ardeth reaches forward and stroke the match off O'Connell's stubbly face. O'Connell yelped. Ardeth lighted the dynamite and threw it down the passageway. They all hit the deck. The dynamite exploded, ripping apart the creatures, causing a cave-in and sealing the passageway with rock and dirt. Now there was only one way out, another dark, creepy passageway.

Chained tight to the top of the altar, Evelyn hopelessly struggled to free herself. She stopped as Priest mummies started surrounding the altar. Evelyn was horrified as the hideous mummies knelt down and began to chant, which now sounded even more horrific due to the lack of tongues, jaws and mouths in the room. Imothep stepped up carrying the black Book of the Dead. His hand reached out and lovingly caressed Anck-su-namun's decayed cheek.

 _"Anck-su-namun."_

O'Connell and Jonathan were digging away at the seams of the secret compartment, it started to give. And that's when Ardeth spotted another group of rotting mummies coming down the dark passageway, heading right for them. O'Connell looked up.

"Damn, these guys just don't quit, do they?"

Ardeth grabbed the elephant gun and a handful of shells and ran off towards the mummies.

"Keep digging!"

O'Connell and Jonathan redoubled their efforts, pulling harder on the seam. The compartment started to loosen, about to give. The last time this happened, salt acid sprayed out. But they kept tugging. The tension mounted. And that was when a skeletal hand bursted up out of the ground and grabbed O'Connell's ankle. Several more moldy hands bursted up out of the ground. O'Connell and Jonathan struggled with the mummies as they crawled up out of the dirt floor. One of the mummies violently shoved O'Connell away. Another grabbed Jonathan by the throat and started to strangle him. A third mummy grabbed at the secret compartment and pulled hard. An intense burst of acid sprayed out of the seam and hit all three of the mummies. The one strangling Jonathan got it in the back and dropped him. All three mummies melted horribly.

Imothep began to read from the Book of the Dead. A large swirling hole started to open in the detritus bog. The two women's eyes widened in amazement and horror.

Ardeth blasted away at the oncoming mummies. over at the base of the statue, O'Connell and Jonathan pulled an ornate chest out of the secret compartment. O'Connell ripped off the lid, reached inside and pulled out a heavy burlap bag. He and Jonathan exchanged nervous and excited looks. Then he reached into the bag and slowly pulled out the solid gold Book of the Living, golden light reflected off their faces as they stared at it in wonder.

The elephant gun went empty. Ardeth took it by the barrel and waded into the remaining mummies swinging.

"Save the girl! Kill the creature!" he yelled.

O'Connell lighted the last stick of dynamite and threw it against the far wall. He and Jonathan hit the deck.

"That's the last one, we better get lucky."

The wall blew. Debris collapsed, but now there was a hole for them to get out. O'Connell and Jonathan raced out through the hole just as the remaining mummies entered the chamber.

Outside, Beni staggered across the sand with a saddlebag filled with treasure. He threw it over the rear of a camel and started to climb up, but he hesitated and looked back at the temple door, licking his lips. And then his greed got the better of him and he quickly climbed down and scurried back towards the door.

Imothep read from the Book. The rotten Priest-mummies rocked back and forth, chanting. Evelyn struggles. Then suddenly, the strange mist wafted up out of the swirling hole and over to the sacred jars, it passed through them and into Evelyn. Evelyn jerked as though she's been electrified.

"Evy!"

The mist passed through her and into Anck-su-namun's body. The chanting priests, swirling hole, wafting mist and Imothep's readings reached a crescendo. Anck-su-namun's crusty eyelids suddenly popped open. Evelyn stared at her in disbelief. Anck-su-namun's rotted head turned and looked at Evelyn with empty sockets. Evelyn freaked out and struggled wildly, then she noticed Imhotep holding the ancient sacrificial knife.

"With your death, my love and I will be invincible!"

He rose it up over Evelyn's chest, about to plunge it down. Evelyn's eyes widened in horror.

"Evy! Stop it! Please don't kill her!"

And that was when O'Connell and Jonathan bursted in. Imhotep spun around and faced them. Jonathan beamed as he held up the golden Book Of The Living.

"I found it, Maddy, Evy! I found it!"

"Shut-up and get us off of here!"

O'Connell grabbed an ancient sword out of a statue's hand, jumped up onto a gravestone and leapt out over the Priests. The Priest-mummies stopped chanting. The mist vanished. Imothep stepped forward. O'Connell stroke the sacrificial knife out of his hand. Imhotep bellowed a command. The Priests

stood up, swords and knives in their hands, they attacked O'Connell.

"Open the book, Jonathan! It's the only way to kill him. You have to open the book and find the inscription", Madylinn yelled.

O'Connell racked and chopped at the attacking Priest-mummies, fighting his way to Evelyn. The skeletal creatures wildly swung their swords, trying to stab O'Connell. Jonathan fumbled with the book, struggling to open it, but he couldn't.

"Well, I can't open it! It's locked or something!"

O'Connell cut two of the mummies in half, then swung his sword down at Evelyn. One chain broke free. Jonathan spots a series of solid gold, four-sided locks along the binder. It hit him like lightning.

"We need the key!"

Imothep grinned, then grabbed the key/box hanging from a chain around his neck, ripped it off and shoved it into his pocket. He picked up the sacrificial sword and headed for Jonathan.

"What do I do, girls!? What do I do!?"

"Read the inscription on the cover!" both women yelled in unison.

O'Connell swung his sword down again. Evelyn now

had one hand and one leg free. More mummies attacked O'Connell and forced him back. Jonathan quickly started translating the cover inscription. He started to backpedal through the cemetery, clutching the golden book, wide-eyed, as Imhotep moved in on him. He tripped and fell on his ass. Imhotep charged forward. O'Connell slashed another chain. Only one more left holding Evelyn. Jonathan sat up and quickly looked back at the cover.

 _"Rasheem... Rasheem oola... Rasheem oola Kashka!"_

Imothep raised the sacrificial sword, about to kill Jonathan. And that was when some doors opened and a group of armed mummies marched through the door.

"Oh boy."

O'Connell decapitated a mummy and looked at the armed mummies.

"Oh yeah. This just keeps gettin, better and better", he mumbled.

Imothep left Jonathan and headed for the giant statue. O'Connell leapt over and with one last swing of the sword, freed Evelyn from her chains. More Priest-mummies attacked, forcing him away. Evelyn jumped off the altar and started to head for O'Connell, when a skeletal hand grabbed her, spinning her around. It was Anck-su-namun's rotted corpse. Evelyn reacted.

"Hey guys! It would be great... IF YOU COULD GET ME FREE FROM THIS THESE CHAINS!!!!!"

Imothep looked up at Anubis, pointed to O'Connell, and in ancient Egyptian commanded him to attack. Anubis moved for O'Connell, stomping over mausoleums and through the detritus moat on his way. O'Connell quickly backed away.

"Do something, Jonathan!"

"Me?"

"You can command them."

"You have got to be joking?"

Evelyn is backing away from Anck-su-namun.

"Finish the inscription on the cover, idiot! Then you can control them."

"Oh, right."

Anck-su-namun attacked Evelyn. Evelyn fend her off as best she could. Jonathan quickly looked back at the hieroglyphs on the book cover, fumbling badly under the pressure.

"Ummm, _Hootash im... Hootash im_ now what is this last symbol here?"

"Hurry up Jonathan!" Madylinn yelled when she saw Anck-su-namun's corpse getting closer to Evelyn.

"I can't figure out this last symbol."

"What does it look like!?"

Anck-su-namun grabbed Evelyn by the throat. The armed mummies cornered O'Connell, who turned to run up the stairs, but got blocked from some of the armed mummies. Jonathan stared at the inscription, slightly oblivious.

"It's a, uh, a bird... a storck!"

Madylinn saw her cousin getting strangled by Anck-su-namun.

" _Ahmenophus_!"

"Oh, yes, I see."

The armed mummies pointed their weapons at O'Connell who stumbled and fell down.

"Uh, _Hootash im Ahmenophus!_ "

The armed mummies instantly froze in their tracks just as they were wanting to make the final blow. O'Connell slid free of their weapons which were raised.

 _"Fa-Kooshka Anck-su-namun!"_

Evelyn shoved Anck-su-namun away,

Anck-su-namun looked to the side and opened her fetid mouth to scream just as the armed mummies came up to her and stabbed her several times. Imothep shrieked in rage and horror, then turned and angrily headed for Jonathan. Jonathan, sitting on his ass, quickly backpedaled on his hands and heels. O'Connell leapt to his feet, the sword in his hand and ran for Imothep, who grabbed Jonathan, lifted him up, ripped the golden Book of the Living out of his hand and pinned him to a wall. O'Connell ran up and swung his sword at Imhotep. He sliced Imhotep's right arm off. It dropped to the ground, still clutching the Book of the Living. Imhotep dropped Jonathan and spun around, facing O'Connell, who grinned.

"Okay pal, let's see how tough you are without your right arm."

Imothep grabbed O'Connell with his left arm and threw him half way across the cemetery. O'Connell slammed into a gravestone, bounced off and crashed to the ground. He shook it off.

"Alright,... so he's left handed."

Imothep was already striding towards him. Jonathan lifted up his hand, he had the key/box back. He smiled at the two women.

"Girls, I got it!"

Evelyn ran for Jonathan.

"Go help Maddy getting her free, Ill handle the Book."

Jonathan ran up to his cousin and found her in ancient clothing.

"Don't you dare drool okay? And now please get these chains off of me!"

O'Connell swung his sword and cleaved a big chunk of molten flesh rot out of Imhotep's stomach. On the outside, Imhotep looked human, but on the inside he was still a rotten old mummy. Imothep backhanded O'Connell, knocking him twenty feet back. O'Connell staggered to his feet. Imhotep was right there, clubbing him hard with his left arm. O'Connell spun through the air, slamming into the side of a mausoleum. Imhotep approached, rage in his eyes. O'Connell got up, quickly pivoted and hacked into Imhotep's head. Imhotep grinned and punched O'Connell in the face. O'Connell was thrown back, pulling his sword with him. He bounced hard off the mausoleum, landing on his feet. He could barely stand. Jonathan had already opened the two chains on Madylinn's wrists, his cousin now helping him getting off the chains on her feet with her now freed hands. Evelyn lifted up the heavy gold book, Imhotep's severed hand still clinging to it. Evelyn yanked it off, threw it away, then started furiously working the key into the series of locks, unlocking each of them. Imothep strides forward. O'Connell backs into the strode forward, swung the sword, Imhotep tried to catch it, but it cleaved through his palm and deeply imbedded itself into his forearm.

Imothep ripped the sword away from O'Connell and

casually flung it away. The golden Book of the Living opens with a hiss. Evelyn held it tight as she quickly turned the heavy gold pages looking for something.

O'Connell turned to run, but Imhotep grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet. O'Connell hung there, a dazed mess. Imhotep grinned, said something in ancient Egyptian, then started to strangle O'Connell, who choked, about to die. Jonathan had opened the last chain with Madylinn's help. Then Evelyn turned and faced Imhotep and read an inscription:

 _"Kadeesh mal! Kadeesh mal! Pared oos! PARED OOS!!"_

Imothep pivoted and looked at Evelyn, a look of sheer terror on his face. Then he looked over at the detritus bog, which started to bubble and shift. The swirling hole began to open. And then suddenly the spirits of the Egyptian gods came from the stairs, on a chariot, which went threw Imothep and took his soul with them before vanishing through something that looked like a portal.

"I thought you said it was going to kill him!"

Imothep turned and moved for the little group but ran right into the sword O'Connell held. Imothep raised a hand, which was covered in blood.

"He's mortal", Madylinn said.

Imhotep stumbled back and fell into the detritus bog. They watched as Imothep slowly sank into the fetid swamp, slowly dying and turning into a rotten mummy again. And then, just before his head went under, Imothep looked up at them, grinned broadly and said something in ancient Egyptian.

"Death... is only the beginning", Madylinn translated.

Imhotep's grinning face vanished under the black bile.

Beni staggered across a chamber, straining under the weight of another saddlebag filled with treasure. He spot a large, ornate staff sticking out of a wall. He threw the saddlebag over the staff and collapsed against the wall, exhausted. And then the weight of the treasure pulled the staff down, which started a massive aural chain-reaction. Beni backed away from the wall, wide-eyed, filled with fear. All the walls started to sink into the ground, driven by tons

of pouring sand. Beni turned and hauls ass out of the chamber.

O'Connell, Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan looked around as all the walls started to descend. O'Connell grabbed Evelyn's hand.

"Time to go."

As they all ran, Jonathan tripped and fell and accidentally threw the Book of the Living into the detritus bog. Evelyn watched as the golden book sank into the black putrescence.

"Ohh! You've lost the book! Jonathan, I can't believe..."

"Come on!"

O'Connell pulled Evelyn forward and all four of them raced past sinking pillars. They ducked as they ran into a descending doorway.

Beni scampered down a passageway, the ceiling getting lower and lower until he had to crouch. And then he had to stick the torch between his teeth and crawled on his hands and knees.

O'Connell, Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan crouch-ran into the treasure chamber. Jonathan skidded to a stop, looking in wonder at all the treasure. Sand rained down on them.

"Couldn't we just..."

"No Jonathan!"

O'Connell and Evelyn grabbed him and quickly pulled him through the mounds of treasure towards

a sinking doorway on the far side of the room. The sound of the sinking walls was deafening.

Beni crouch-ran into the treasure chamber. O'Connell, Madylinn, Evelyn and Jonathan raced past him. He joined them as they ran up a staircase. Heading for a descending doorway, which was already half gone, it was now only four feet high, now three feet high, now two feet. Jonathan dove through the narrow gap. Then O'Connell dove through, he spun around. Evelyn dove, then Madylinn, but she got stuck in the middle, about to get cut in half. O'Connell grabbed her arm and yanked her through in the nick of time. Beni reached through the narrowing gap with his hand.

"O'CONNELL!!"

O'Connell grabbed it, but it was too late. Beni yanked his hand back just as the top of the door crashed to the floor, sealing him in. Beni quickly crawled back down the stairs as the ceiling slammed down behind him. He stood up and looked around with his diminishing torch. All the doorways finished closing. There was no way out, he was trapped. And then he heard something and turned around. Over in the corner, a scarab-beetle stared at him, chittering. Beni waved his flickering torch at the scarab and backed away.

"Go away. _Shoosh ma! Shoosh ma!_ "

He stood in the middle of the treasure chamber as dozens upon dozens of scarabs boiled up out of the floor around him. Beni was absolutely terrified. The scarabs started to move in. And that was when Beni's torch went out, it was pitch black. Then Beni started screaming in horror and pain, the scarabs chittering hungrily.

The temple collapsed as O'Connell, Madylinn, Evelyn, Jonathan and a pack of stray camels raced through the ruins. A sinking crevice dropped out right behind them, chasing them out through the

front gates. The whole place rumbled ominously. They made it down the ramp as more ruins crashed down behind them. A massive cloud of sand and dust billowed out over the wall and into the air. The little group and all the stray camels raced out into the desert.

They stood in the middle of the plateau, surrounded by stray camels. They stared off at the sandy and dusty volcano as it continued to rumble-ominously.

 **Madylinn's POV**

We stood there watching the city of the Dead vanishing, when Jonathan suddenly screamed. We all turned around a saw Ardeth... and the Curator on two camels.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

"You've earned the respect and gratitude of us and our people."

"Yes, well, it was nothing", Jonathan said.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah?" I asked laughing.

Ardeth turned to me and gestured for me to follow him. He got down from his camel and went a few meters away and I followed him.

"So the mummy is defeated. What happens now? With us?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

I saw his expression and stiffened.

"I can't be with you."

"What? I don't understand. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm going to marry someone else when I go back."

"What?... You were engaged the whole time?... Does that mean... you lied to me about your feelings?"

Ardeth stepped up and reached out for me, but I jerked ma arm away.

"Tell me. Are you feeling anything for me?"

Ardeth's looked down to his feet. I straighten my back and scoffed.

"Just as I thought. I wish that you would have let me burn to death or let me drown or that Imothep would have used me for the sacrifice instead of Evy. Than I wouldn't be in this situation now."

I turned and started walking away,

-"Madylinn."-

when Ardeth grabbed my arm. I turned around again, yanking my arm away.

"I trusted you with my feelings! I thought that I would finally have someone that truly loves me and someone who is worthy, taking my virginity! But now I see that there is nothing like love. You're an asshole. I HOPE TO NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN. GOODBYE!!!!"

I walked back to the others with a waterfall of tears in my face. I walked straight to one of the camels.

"Well,... I guess we go home empty-handed... again", Jonathan said.

I saw how O'Connell looked at Evy.

"I wouldn't say that."

Evy returned the look and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. O'Connell returned it. I looked away and saw in the corner of my eye that the Curator and Ardeth were on their camels and riding away. My heart shattered into million pieces again when I saw Ardeth vanishing without even one glance back.

Jonathan just rolled his eyes, snorted in disgust and climbed up onto a camel. When the kiss was over, O'Connell and Evelyn shared a smile, but then looked at Madylinn with a look of pity and worry.

"Are you okay?"

"I gave him my virginity", I whined and sniveled.

O'Connell leapt up into the saddle, reached down, grabbed Evelyn's hand and pulled her up behind him. Evelyn wrapped her arms around his waist. He then rode next to me and both of them pulled me into a hug carefully, that I wouldn't fall off of the camel. Jonathan also hugged me carefully.

"Forget him Maddy. Just forget him. If he's treating you like this, then he's not worthy of your love."

I smiled at them all thanking for their understanding and that they cared for me.

"We should all live together in one house. We three will take care of you and help you cope with the pain of your broken heart."

"But how do we afford that?" Jonathan asked.

I looked down to our saddle-bags when I saw something shimmering and smiled at what I saw. The other had followed my eyes and smiled at it too.

"So let us go then."

 **No ones POV**

O'Connell and Jonathan slapped the reins. The camels started to move out. The little group on the three camels rode off into the sunset.

And little did they know that inside of Madylinn's stomach, was growing something, but it stopped when she was rejected, now trapped in a not passing time.

They will go on an adventure again and then...

Will Madylinn be loved again and will the new life be growing again?


	13. Sequel

I hope you liked the first book and that you will like the next one because

the sequel is out now.

It's called

 **Pharaoh's Daughter-The mummy's return**

Please read it.


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